Give Me Love
by XxToToXx
Summary: Give Me Love is all your favorite romance movies rolled into one epic Zutara fanfic! Zuko makes her believe in everything she's never believed in while Katara is trying to witness a miracle before it's too late. I'll come up with a better story summary later on! Cute/sweet/fluffy fic!
1. Chapter 1

**Story Title:** Give Me Love

**Author:** XxToToXx

**Full Summary: Give Me Love is all your favorite romance movies rolled into one epic Zutara fanfic! Zuko, a man with a dark past is searching for something to make him feel, while Katara is trying to witness a miracle before it's too late. I'll come up with a better story summary later on. **

**Prologue **

Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not become angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is not happy with evil, but is happy with truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails

Before I die I just want to witness a miracle, I want to be in two places at one, I want to fall in love, I want to do something bad one last time and help someone with their most wanted wish. Not to mention that I want to deliver someone's child and have a star named after me.

I want to live my life to fullest around those that I love and spend my days laughing and happy.

When I met Zuko Agni, I knew I would get all these things.

**.0.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Story Title:** Give Me Love

**Author**: XxToToXx

**Full Summary: Give Me Love is all your favorite romance movies rolled into one epic Zutara fanfic! Zuko, a man with a dark past is searching for something to make him feel, while Katara is trying to witness a miracle before it's too late. I'll come up with a better story summary later on.**

**One:**

"Hello brother." She says as she steps through the doorway into the mansion. Her teal blue eyes survey the crow of moving bodies and people posted up in the foyer and living room. Red cups and pizza boxes and bottles of liquor are all she sees as she walks further into her former home. The neighbors will be calling the police soon because of all the noise.

"Katara? What are you doing here?" Sokka asks. "Aren't you supposed to be in the city?"

She spins around in her stilettos and slams her hands on her wide hips. "I'm grown. I just wanted to come home for a little while, is it that strange?"

"Uh, yeah. You haven't been here in four and a half years. Is something wrong?" She looks over him, they have the same exact features, probably because they're twins. Sokka is tall and built, he's actually gotten taller if that's even possible. He still keeps his hair in the tribal wolfstail and wears their great grandfathers warrior beads around his neck.

"Nothing's wrong Sokka!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Good!" He sweeps her up into a bear hug and twirls her around. "I missed you shrimp!" He sits her down after she pleaded for air. He leads her outside to the less crowded pool area, keeping her close to him to save her from the prying eyes of the other men.

"Where's everyone?" She looks at the new garden work. "No, wait. Let me guess, mom is somewhere with her colleagues and dad is in the city with uncle Bato and Arnook watching rerun football games."

Sokka watches her walk the edge of the pool. "Actually, no. Well you're kinda right. They're all out of town for the weekend."

"When the cats are away the mouse will play right?"

"Of course."

She pauses when she hears a crash, Sokka looks back and brushes it off. "Mind telling me why you're nineteen and still living at home then?"

"Because I'm broke!" He reminds her. "They cut me off when I totaled my last car. Now I have to work at that old mechanic shop to support my habits." Sokka never has been the best driver. "I can come and live with you."

"No you can't."

"Why not?"

"Cause I sold my penthouse." She says, but it looks more like she's speaking to the water in the pool.

He looks at her like she's got six heads. "You had a penthouse? Just what-"

"-You've ran out of food Sokka." Someone says from behind them. Katara is sure that she's never seen him before- she would've remembered someone like him. He's tall and a little pale with jet black hair that's pulled in a topknot and honey colored eyes. His jawline is so strong it almost hurts her. He's wearing a white and blue varsity football t shirt and loose jeans. She can tell that he works out but his muscles are lean, not too bulky. They're just right.

Who is he?

He looks at her, he catches her staring but she doesn't care. He gives her a lingering once over but that's it. Even when he looks away from her she can still feel the intensity of his stare on her skin.

"Zuko, this is my sister Katara. She's here from the city for… why are you here again?"

Sokka scratches his hairless chin. "You never said."

"Because I missed home." She says again. Zuko looks at her strangely but he doesn't say anything else. "I told you that."

Sokka looks almost as if he doesn't believe her. "Right, Zuko this Katara."

Zuko's eyes flash to her again. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too."

"I'm going to get the rest of the stuff from the cellar." Sokka checks his watch and looks at his sister. "Are you coming?"

"No, I'm gonna stay out here by the pool."

Sokka shrugs a shoulder and walks off back into the house. "Alright, suit yourself."

Katara watches Zuko. He's staring up at the star filled night sky. "You two look exactly alike."

"We're twins."

"Never knew that. I never really knew he had a sister." He looks at her again, this time he doesn't look away and Katara can't help but blush. "What area of the city did you come from?"

"Eastern district."

"Right." He ruffles the back of his loose black hair. "I lived there… for a while."

"It's nice."

"Then why'd you leave?" His quick question catches her off guard and she is lost for a response. He sees her hesitancy and shifts his body weight. "It's just that it's the greater part of the city -more attractions, security, better houses- what made you leave?"

"Are you playing detective now?"

He grins. "Partially."

"Oh." She looks down at her fiddling hands. She hates when she gets nervous and she doesn't really know what to do with herself. Like now, he won't stop looking at her with those intense eyes from up under those thick lashes. "Well…"

"So you're going to be going to the university in the fall?"

"University?"

"You know that place where the high schoolers go after they graduate."

"I know what a university is and no, I won't be going." She says. "School really isn't my thing. I'm not here for work."

"For vacation basically."

"Exactly." She nods. "Are you going?"

"I'm graduating next year.… for law."

"That's very…" she searches for the right word. "Complicated." The crickets chirp

In the back ground and an owl can be heard in the distance. It just feels like home again, a wonderful summer night. A light breeze passes by and sends the cologne that he's wearing her way. It's very intoxicating.

"It's way more complicated than people think it is." He shrugs a little, a small smile on his handsome face. Someone calls him from the balcony, telling him that it's turn for something. She guesses that it's his turn for the Xbox or play station, whatever it is that the boys are into these days.

"It's a small town here." He tells her. "I'll see you around?"

"Sure, hopefully."

"Yeah, hopefully." As Katara watches him walk away and back into the house.

She doesn't see him the rest of night, well, not until every one is forced to leave by the police and Zuko stays behind to help Sokka clean up. She has no clue how they're going to clean two floors, the backyard, and the front yard before Hakoda and Kya get home. Katara doesn't clean, that's why she's hiding out in her room to keep from getting put to work. Everything is the same as she left it, it's been kept up too. It's almost like she never left. She turns on the beats pill and hooks up her phone to it. Mandy Moore's 'Only Hope' fills the room and she closes her bedroom door for privacy. Sky blue wall, white modeling, and the white carpeting really makes her feel at home now. All of her achievements are on shelves on the wall, not counting the ones that are on display in the living room.

Volleyball, the beauty pageant, soccer, cheerleading, and track trophies. Her and Sokka are very athletic. She picks up a black and brown stuffed bear that's sitting on her nightstand besides her broken alarm clock. It's missing an eyeball and it's stitched in numerous places, his name is Felix and she got him from her gran when she was five. He's obviously been through a lot. Katara falls backwards onto her bed and stares up at the ceiling. Why'd she even come back here? She could've stayed in the city with the others. Now she's going to have to answer a million and one questions. Her suitcases are still by the door, she doesn't know if she'll unpack them. She didn't even know if she'd unpack them back in the city. Maybe this time it will be easier for her. She closes her eyes, only to snap them back open again when she hears shouting from downstairs. She instantly recognizes that voice. Tossing Felix aside she bursts out of her room and down the hall to the balcony. She has a clear view of downstairs from here.

It's her father and uncle Arnook. They're almost twins, they have the same dark skin and strong build, the same proudness and solidness in their features with the same clear blue eyes. Obviously, Sokka is getting all the blame for the party. He should've expected that. Zuko is there as well, holding a trash bag and a broom. She creeps down the stairs one by one while pulling down her dress.

"And just what were you thinking, Sokka? You actually went along with this?" Hakoda asks.

"I just invited a dew friends over, honest!" Sokka holds up his hands in defense. "I didn't know it would turn into some big bash!"

"It was a small get together, Mr. Sneaux. I really didn't expect it to get out of hand like this." Zuko and Sokka must be close, maybe even best friends. She sits down on the steps and peers around the railing, they can't really see her. Their backs are to her, but Sokka has a view. He hasn't looked her way yet.

Arnook turns to him with a slight raise of his brows. "You're Ozai's boy, aren't you?"

"Yes sir."

"A good man, your father."

"Uh, yeah." It seems to make Zuko a little uncomfortable. "He is."

"But that doesn't give you the right to throw a party like this every time we leave the house Sokka." Hakoda frowns. "Wait until your mother sees this!"

Sokka throws his finger right at her. "Wait until mother sees that Katara's back home!"

"What?" Arnook asks.

Hakoda Cocks his head. "Katara's back?" Everyone follows Sokka's finger to the staircase and Katara gives a small wave.

"Hey daddy." She uses the railing to pull herself up and goes over to her father's awaiting arms. He Hugs her tightly, it's the type of hug that only a father can give his daughter. "Hey Arnook."

"When did you get here? Did you know about this?" Arnook welcomes her. He's always been the more compassionate, a great man just as her father is.

"Of course not, I just got back here a little while before you did." She gestures her arm around her. "This was going on before I got here even, the police came and everything."

"Police?" Hakoda roars, Sokka gulps.

"You haven't even been here twenty four hours and already you're ratting me out?" Sokka whines.

"Well…" He never should've pointed her out the way he did.

"I'm going to finish the living room." Zuko says lowly, making his way out of the small group. Arnook excuses himself for the night and promise to tell Yue that Kataras come back into town. She's sure she's going to get pulled into a million different directions tomorrow, maybe even tonight.

"Hopefully you're staying." Hakoda pats her head once they're alone in the kitchen. Katara sits at the island swirling around a postcard from Pakku. Sokka and Zuko have moved to the backyard, Hakoda's making them get everything done tonight. Good thing that they don't have class tomorrow.

"Well for right now I am. I think i might." She says as lowers her eyes back to the speckled countertop. She's been watching Zuko for the past five minutes now. l

Hakoda pours them both some hot chocolate. Even though it's the summer time their house is right by the lake and it gets pretty chilly. "Are you going to enroll back into college? How's RCU going? Are you still going for your doctorates?"

She cringes at the question. "I actually kind of… quit that."

"Quit? When?" He

"A couple of years ago…"

"Education is important Katara!" He begins and sits their drinks on the island. "Why would you want to do something like that? What have you been doing with all the money we've been sending you? Without an education it's not much that we have Katara, we've been through this already!"

"I can't tell you why I quit, daddy. Not yet." She grabs her pink and white mug but she doesn't drink from it.

"So what have you been doing all this time?"

"Can I just have my marshmallows please? And something to eat, I haven't eaten all day." She reaches for the pizza box but he pushes it out of her reach. "Come on!"

"You can waif a few more minutes. Now answer the questions."

"Dad it's one in the morning!"

"I'm just living! I came back here to be with my family, that's all I want right now... Besides the food."

His face softens and he reluctantly pushes the box back to her. He's always been a bit harsher than her mother -whose so giddy and carefree and full of life- so he stays on her more.

"I just want to be with my family, that's all." She goes to heat up her three slices of pizza.

"We'll discuss this matter about you dropping out of college later on, right now take out the trash." He pushes a big black bag into her free hand.

She laughs. "Yeah right." She drops it onto the floor and watches the microwave.

"Katara. I'm serious. Take out the trash."

"But I just got here and already you want me to clean?" Katara doesn't clean. She hates housework, and yard work, anything concerning work she hates it. Prissy much?

"Well you're back home, you're back with your family and since you're in my house… well you know the rest."

"You're serious aren't you?"

"As a heart attack." He's starting in with the surgeon jokes already.

"Fine." She takes hold of the top of the bag and with difficulty hauls it on out the back door. It's really heavy, she has to stop two times before she makes it to the garbage cans. She moves her hair out of her face and let's out a breath. She really isn't supposed to be doing anything this strenuous.

"Do you need some help with that?" She looks over her shoulder. Zuko is standing on the steps to the back porch with his car keys in hand. He's leaving? "It's just that I saw you struggling from the road and I thought you could use some muscle."

"I'm not a weakling if that's what you're implying… but you can dump it for me."

"Right." He comes over and picks the bag up with ease, Katara watches him dump it in the metal trash can and place the lid over it. "You're welcome."

"I'll see you around?"

"Sure." She nods a couple of times. "And thanks for helping with the trash bag."

"It's not in me to pass up a damsel in distress. Good Katara."

"Good night Zuko."

Her bedroom is the same as she remembers, all soft and plush and comfortable. She rolls into her side and covers up her head. This has got to be one of the best sleeps she's ever had. But it's all interrupted when the sheets are yanked from her body and the curtains that cover the French doors to her balcony are ripped open to let the bright son in.

"Rise and shine dear!" Kya sings. "Time to get and get ready for today!"

"The sun is burning me! Are you crazy?" She uses a pillow to try and cover up with but that's ripped from her hands as well and tossed to the floor. "I'm trying to sleep here! Daddy!" She calls out to the one person who may be able to save her, but she gets no response.

Kya sits on the edge of her bed. It's like looking into a mirror, it's almost scary how much her and mother favor each other. "Your father isn't here, he left earlier to go and do his house visits."

"His working doesn't call for me to wake up at this ungodly hour!"

"It's seven thirty in the morning, Katara. We have church today. It's Sunday, you know-"

"- I don't wanna go to that! Can you just leave?"

"… Katara Winter Sneaux, are you sassing me?" Her mothers melodic voice turns dry and her smile fades into a frown. Her educated and southern accent reminds Katara on just why she's never taken attitudes with her.

"No, I just don't want to be around a bunch of rich people who only want to talk about the stock market and polo and things like that. I'd rather go back to sleep!"

"Well that's too bad pumpkin, get up. We don't have all day. I've already laid your clothes out for you." She says as she stands to leave. She's wearing a yellow flowing sundress with a small white jacket and pearls around her neck. Her hair is gathered at the very back of her head in a chignon, some log stands of hair are loose at the front and she's got a pair of white gloves in her hand. She always takes these things to the extreme. Katara sits up in the bed with a groan. Kya watches her get out of bed and pick up the clothes she's laid out.

"This is disgusting." Katara makes a face at the white dress. It's got a sweetheart top and it flares out at the waist. There's also a pink sweater, something that she hates wearing. The dress she can deal with, but the sweater? Jesus no.

But she'll have to wear it to cover up the bruises on her wrist.

"And Katara?"

"Yes?"

"It's good to have you back home." She smiles. "Hurry down alright?"

"Okay."

Kya is so stuck on looking presentable twenty four seven. It was hectic growing up in this house and Katara sees that not much has changed. She's tried with her hair, it's in a tight and neat bun at the top of her head. She rarely wears it down, it's too much to handle loose and she doesn't feel as though she looks right with it. She's wearing the clothing that was laid out for her along with the charm bracelet that she found in her jewelry box. She can't believe she actually forgot it here. It was given to her by her parents and Sokka when she was ten, it's beautiful. It has three golden charms on it, with small blue sapphires set in them.

She pauses for a moment when she reaches into her makeup bag for her powder brush. The room spins a little, or is it just her? No. It's really spinning. She puts her hands on the sides of her head and closes her eyes to steady the spinning room and pull herself together. Someone calls her name and shakes her, nearly scares her to death. When she opens her eyes Sokka is standing there with a worried expression.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale." He puts the back of his hand to her forehead to check her temperature. "You feel a warm."

"I'm okay."

"Are you sure? Though she won't take your sicktricks."

"I'm fine, doctor Sokka." She slowly stands and straightens out her dress. "Can we go now?" She takes her book and pen off of the dresser and holds it under her arm.

"Alright. Let's go." He holds her hand and walks her down downstairs, just like he used to do when they were kids.

She's going to miss this.

Pastor Yen is old, as old as dirt. He's been old as far as Katara can remember. It's like he was born old. He's outrageously short with spiked grey hair and almost floor length beard. He has to stand on a pedestal just so he can see everyone in the church. The robes that he's wearing are long, red and gold. They used to be white and silver and blue. The choir begins to sing and instead of listening to the sad songs Katara focuses on writing her list in her notebook. Sokka, clumsy as usual, stretches out his arms and causes the pen to fly from her hand and down the row. She shoves him back with her elbow and he cries out.

"You two had better not start this foolishness now." Kya whispers to them harshly. "Not today, not in the house of the lord!"

Katara searches the floor for her pen. She doesn't see it, now she has to be bored for another forty five minutes. She shoves Sokka again. Someone nudges her to her left.

Zuko.

He's been sitting right next to her this entire time? He's in a white button up shirt and black pants, besides him are two other women who she guesses are his mother and sister, or both sisters. They're beautiful -the same jet black hair and golden eyes- there's no way they aren't related. He hands her her pen and turns his eyes back to the front after she awkwardly takes it. She wonders briefly if he's seen what she was writing, but then again for some reason she doesn't care. They sit silently throughout the rest of the service, with his shoulder against hers.

Not that she minds.

After church Katara has plans on going back home and getting the rest of the beauty sleep that she's missed out on. She didn't plan on going to the Agni Manor for tea. She hates tea.

Ursa is Zuko's mother. She's married to Ozai Agni, some big time attorney. Azula is Zuko's sister, she's fairly quiet, maybe she just doesn't like new people. Apparently Ursa and Kya are good friends. The Agni family moved here five years ago, a little bit before Katara left to the city. Ursa is lively yet controlled and spirited at the same time, her smile is brighter than the sun itself. She takes an instant liking to Katara, even though she's never met her she treats her as though she's known her for years.

Katara sits with crossed legs and crossed arms on the patio at the rounded table. Ursa sits across from her with Kya to her right and Azula on her left. Katara just happened to get seated between Zuko and Sokka again. It's a beautiful summer day, the sky is clear and birds are chirping. A cool breeze flows around and occasionally gives her a shiver, but she pulls her sweater tighter. She stares down at her cup of green tea and mentally scoffs. She's not drinking that. Azula excuses herself rather politely, a bit too politely for Katara's taste v

Ursa smiles softly behind her tall glass of lemonade. "Isn't that lovely? Our boys are graduating soon!"

"Hopefully mine will be, that is if he makes better marks in history."

Sokka looks up briefly from his texting. He looks like he wants to say something back but he changes his mind and instead gets up and mumbles about a bathroom. He disappears into the house, Katara may leave too. Besides her Zuko shifts in his seat, keeping his eyes on the field behind the house where the horses are grazing. Do they

Get together after church every Sunday and do this? Is its mandatory for them to really be here?

"History?" Ursa questions.

"The hundred year war to be more precise."

"Oh, I had trouble in that area as well in school. He catch on, he's a bright boy." Ursa pats Kya's hand. "I've heard a lot about you too Katara." Ursa says gently. "Your father never stops talking about you. I actually couldn't wait to meet you."

She sits up, a bit startled by the sudden change of topic. "I never knew that. Really there's not much to tell about me."

"Nonsense! How was the city like? Are you fairing well with your studies?" Ursa presses. "Azula is taking up the same major, she wants to be a psychologist."

Azula wants to be a psychologist and Zuko is going to be a lawyer and their father is already a wealthy attorney. This family must be destined for greatness.

"The city was a… it was a big change for me. I got there when I was sixteen and I kind of fell in love with it right away, it's so different from this town." Katara says. "I was doing good with my classes, they were a bit much but I handled it."

"So are you going to finish up here at the university?"

"Of course she is." Kya says quickly. "After that she's going to do year long internship at the United Nations Hospital in Ba Sing Se."

Zuko looks at Katara, he must remember when she told him that she wasn't going to enroll in the college. She's not, that's what her mother wants her to do.

As usual.

Ursa looks like she's picked up something as well. "Zuko is going there as well. I told him -oh shoot. We're out of fruit tarts."

"I'll go get them." Zuko volunteers.

Kya smiles. "Thank you, he's such a sweet boy. Katara can help you."

"Sure I can." Katara replies stiffly as she sheets out of her seat to follow Zuko into the house. She watches him go into the fridge and pull out a clear tray wrapped in clear wrap.

She sees the horses out in the field again and walks over to the open French doors and out to the deck. It's three of them, she can't make out a lot of detail, but one is all black, there's a brown one, and an white majestic looking one. She wishes she knew how to ride one, that's one of her goals in life, to learn to ride a horse even though she's a little scared of them. As a matter of fact, it's number two on her list. She leans on the railing and watches them.

Zuko is standing besides her now, admiring the view just like she is. "Do you ride?"

"I never had the chance to learn. Do you ride them? Is one of them yours?" She looks up at him, he's staring down at her.

"Sometimes. The black one in the corner, she's mine." He points to the horse in the corner of the field. Her wild hair blows in the wind as she moves. Her coat is shiny and Katara bets it's soft to the touch.

"Her name is Onyx." He sounds proud. Katara didn't take him for an animal person When she met him yesterday. She just saw a hilt young man with golden eyes and great hair. "Let's go." He walks down the back porch steps and starts out to the field.

"Go where?"

"You want to see the horses don't you?"

She takes small steps down the stone steps and stops when she's a few feet away from him.

"Yes but I don't think that's a good idea right now. Shouldn't we just go back to the others?" She really isn't I her rebellious state right now, she doesn't want to get him trouble.

"They won't die without fruit tarts." He tells her dryly. "Come on."

Katara looks down his at extended and then back up to him. "Alright." She takes his hand and follow him.

The horses dont mind ge at all, it's her they have an issue with. When they make it there the horses ignore them the i entire time. They're more into searching for food and bugs, whatever it is they eat.

"I'll teach you how to ride."

"Really?"

"It wouldn't be a problem." He says.

She looks at him and then back again at the horses. "I guess that's okay. As long as you promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"You have to promise me you won't fall in love with me."

He looks down at her, a little startled. Then he smiles a little. "We won't have any issues there."

**.0.**

**Read and Review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Story Title:** Give Me Love

**Author:** XxToToXx

**Full Summary:** Give Me Love is all your favorite romance movies rolled into one epic Zutara fanfic! Zuko is the only man whose actually caught Katara's eyes. He shows her everything that shes never believed in while Katara is trying to witness a miracle before it's too late.

**Two**

The old man in the shop regards her with little interest. "Well, if it isn't the troublemaker. Back to wreak more havoc on my store again?" He strokes his hairless chin and hacks up something in his throat. Whatever it is it sounds disgusting. "Daddy finally let you come home?"

"You should be thankful that I even came in here and gave you my business." Katara says back with pursed lips. "Just ring me up."

"Don't you have some puppies to go and drown or something, Jimmy?" Yue digs around in her bag for money after she places her drink and candy on the counter.

"And it's little missy prissy too." Jimmy snickers, punching his fingers into the old cash register. Jimmy doesn't really care for Katara too much. When she was younger she, Sokka, Yue and Hahn would come in the store and pull pranks on him just for fun. It's already funny that he's tall, skinny, and bony, plus he's a little clumsy. His hair is dark and shaggy and his hazel eyes are still as bright as Katara remembers.

"You two girls have a nice day now, don't come back now you hear?"

"Suck it, Jimmy." Yue snatches their things off the counter and heads on out of the small store.

It's blazing hot out on this Monday. It almost doesn't feel like a Monday, it feels more like a Saturday. This morning Katara actually woke up at a reasonable time and went over to Yue's house to find something to do.

She adjusts the white t shirt that she's wearing and straightens her short denim shorts. Her hair is up in a high ponytail with some of her bangs falling in front of her face. Yue questioned that piercings in her ear with interest, the industrials really have her craving for some now.

Jimmy calls Yue prissy because she's just that. Unlike Katara, she enjoys all the tea parties and country club meetings and flowing dresses. Katara does like dressing up, just not everyday. Like right now, she's comfortable in her t shirt, shorts, and converse. After leaving the small family owned store they walk down the oak tree lined path down to the creek, which was named Devil's Creek a couple of years ago. Katara doesn't know who chose that name.

"We can go to the boardwalk Friday night. The fair is coming to town." Yue suggests. "Aang is going to be back by that time you know."

She rolls her eyes in response. "Isn't that great." Aang is her best friend. He was devastated when left the town, he even tried to go with her but Tenzin forbid it.

"I'm guessing that someone else caught your attention in the city?"

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"City boys are way different from small town boys. There was this one boy that I met at a concert. He was great, but we had to breakup."

"Why?"

"It's complicated." Katara says lowly. Her eyes catch hold of a yellow and black butterfly on a tree. She hasn't seen one in so long, she forgot how amazing they look. The sunlight cuts though the small opening of leaves and branches, it give it a holy atmosphere, like God is trying to shine his light and love through nature.

"Was he cute?" Yue asks as she pushes her long white hair over one shoulder. "He should've been."

"He was."

"So…" Yue nudges her. "Zuko right?"

Katara turns her head to her. "What do you mean?"

"Well your mama told my daddy that he's going to be giving you riding lessons."

"How does she even know that?"

"Zuko told Ursa and Ursa told her. She told uncle Hakoda and he told my daddy. Word really travels around this part. You don't even like Horses so I know you aren't going to be there for that."

"I'm trying to conquer my fear of that."

"Just be careful." Yue says. "He's trouble Katara."

"How?"

"He's done some bad things before, and I'm talking about while you were gone."

"That's his past." She replies with furrowed brows. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"I knew you'd say that."

"It's true." Katara doesn't know what type of trouble that Zuko could've caused. She's sure it couldn't have been anything too bad. She's done her share of bad things too but she's not going to label somebody based on the things that they did.

She's sure that Zuko isn't that person anymore.

"We should've drove." Yue whines. "We would've been there by now."

"What fun would driving had been?"

"More fun than walking."

"So why'd they move here?"

"Who?"

"Zuko and his family."

"Oh." Yue shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. No one really knows. Why?"

"No reason. I just was wondering." She keeps her eyes on the leaf littered path and suppresses a breath. She sees a honeycomb hanging from the branch of a tree. The delicious honey drips out of the comb and falls down onto the green grass. She instantly gets a picture of Zuko in her head.

**.0.**

Katara really isn't scared of anything. She never has been and that's something that always got her into trouble. The man looming over her with serious eyes and a cold expression is giving off an irritated aura.

"I'm Katara, Katara Sneaux. I came to… is Zuko home?"

"He is. Come in." He opens the door more for her to slip through and closes it gently behind her.

"Katara." She turns to the left at her name being called. Zuko's standing in the living room entry way wiping his hands clean with a rag. He's in a dirtied t shirt and old jeans. He must've been doing some type of work judging from the sweat on his forehead.

He walks towards her. "You're late."

"I got lost." She says honestly. "I'm not really familiar with this road."

"Living in the city must have you disoriented."

"I still know my way around other places." She has his number, just like he has hers but she didn't want to call and tell him that she was lost.

"You got lost on the backroads. Let's go." He leads her through the kitchen and out a back door. It's brighter today, a bit too bright. Zuko unlocks the gates and walks in. He stops and turns around when he sees that she's not following him. She looks at the now outrageously big animals and shakes her head at him.

"Are you scared or something?"

"No!"

"Then come in."

"I will… eventually." The black one, Onyx, eyes her from across the field. What if she decides that she wants to attack her? There's no way she can outrun a horse. "Which one am I riding?"

"None."

"Then why am I out here?"

"You can't just hop on one, Katara. You have to get it to trust you." He goes and pulls over the speckled one. His hair is long and white and his eyes are chocolate. He looks sweet, but then again looks can be very deceiving.

"Okay, so…" she looks at him hesitantly. "What's it's name?"

"She doesn't have one. It was a gift for my sister but she doesn't care for it enough to give it a name."

Katara slowly reaches out to touch it's long nose, but she pulls back when it snorts loudly and kicks up his back foot. She frowns at Zuko. "That's not funny."

"I wasn't laughing."

"You wanted to, I saw it." Out the corner of her eye she saw the side of his mouth go upward into a smirk for the tiniest second and then go back down again, only to turn into a half smile.

"She's friendlier than Onyx and Rein, she's usually shy." Zuko holds onto the reigns that are hooked onto the horse. "She has to trust you, Katara."

"Trust?"

"Yes, trust."

"Alright." She extends her hand again to try and pet her nose but then the most disgusting thing happens. As soon as she places her hand on the tip of her nose she opens her big mouth and sneezes.

The action sends a flurry of yellowish green snot straight into Katara's face.

"That was the most disgusting, sickening, vilest, and nastiest thing ever!" She shouts as she stomps down the long drive way to her car. She turns around and throws the towel back at Zuko, who catches it easily. "I am never going to that beast again!"

"Just calm down…" Zuko follows behind her, attempting to hold his amusement down. "It happens to everyone."

"How often does a horse do that someone Zuko?" She gets in her car and slam the door shut. She fumbles around with her keys, trying to find the right one and then trying to find the ignition.

When he laughs it makes her madder.

"It's not funny, okay?"

"If you're scared of her I understand. Maybe it was just your perfume that set her off."

She narrows her eyes at him. "Excuse me?"

He shrugs. "It almost set me off."

"You're insulting me smell?"

"No, it's just that most normal people wouldn't put on perfume to go and mess with-"

"-Normal? I'm weird now?" Theres a glint in his eyes that tells her he's enjoying doing this. She's very sensitive and self conscious about her hygiene, she's always been that way.

"The way you're overreacting I'm starting to see that you are."

"Screw you and that demon beast that you call a horse!" She says. He doesn't say anything back, he only smiles and tries to contain his laughter. She starts the ignition up and backs wildly out of the driveway, kicking up dust and rocks in her wake and knocking over the garbage cans at the end of the path.

When she glances angrily at him again he's still got that arrogant smirk on his face. She drives on back home, a smile of her own spreading to her cheeks.

**.0.**

"So how'd the horse riding go?" Kya asks later that night when they're in the kitchen doing the dishes. "Did you fall any?"

Sokka, whose always got some joke to crack, grins when he comes through the back door along with Yue and Suki. "Probably fell getting up there."

"You don't know that, she probably did great." Suki says with a smile. Her and and Sokka have been together since they were fifteen years old. She's got short auburn hair and coffee for eyes, Katara thinks her eyes are the reason that Sokka fell for her. They don't have any intentions on breaking up anything time.

Katara dries off her hands on a wash cloth and scowls as she remembers the events of earlier today. "I never rode one."

"Why not?" Kya asks.

"Because it fucking basically threw up in my face." Sokka bursts into a fit of laughter.

"No!" Yue gasps. "Gross!"

"Language, Katara." Kya scold her. Katara mumbles an apology. After the kitchen is cleared Sokka and Suki disappear of somewhere, while Katara and Yue discuss weekend plans.

It's summer. Isn't everyday the weekend?

There's the fair Friday and Hahn's back to school party, something that he does every year. He doesn't seem to get too bored with doing, but hey, it's his money. After Yue leaves Katara sits at the desk in her room, focusing on her notebook. She's going to need a new one before the week is out. She's been writing in it everyday. She's reaching for another ink pen when something taps her window. Maybe it's just a stupid bird, but birds don't fly at night do they?

The tapping continues.

Katara gets up and goes to investigate. She moves the white curtains out of the way and is nearly scared to death to see two golden eyes staring back at her. It's Zuko, why's he on her balcony? He waits impatiently for her to unlock the doors and let him in.

"What are you doing here?" She asks when he steps into her room. "Don't you know it's eleven-"

"-Eleven at night? I don't care, plus no one goes to sleep this early." He looks around the room inspecting random objects. He stops at trophy and badge collection.

"I doubt you came all this way to check out my room."

"I didn't. I came to apologize." He picks up Felix and examines him thoroughly.

"Oh. Okay. You came to apologize on behalf of that demon." She crosses her arms over her chest.

"It's that's what you prefer to call her." He chuckles. "I'm sorry she blew snot in your face-"

"- And ruined my hair and my eyeliner that took an hour to do. Do you even know how complicated winged liner is? Do you know how much concentration and time that took to do?"

"Actually I don't. I'm not a female."

"Well, that's good. I don't need anymore competition in this town."

"You're saying I look feminine?"

"I'm saying whatever you think I'm saying." She sits back down at her desk and gets back to her notebook. He watches her the entire time.

"You're very flip for someone so small."

"Now you're insulting my weight?"

"It's not an insult, Katara." He responds dryly. Se glances at him out the corner of her eye.

"Don't you have a curfew?"

"I'm twenty, what do I need a curfew for?"

"Sure you don't have one." She says. "Is that all? I'm kind of ready to get to bed. By the way, it was kind of cliche of you to throw rocks at my window-"

"- I wasn't throwing rocks. I was tapping." He corrects her.

"Sure you were."

"Are you coming tomorrow? I mean if you aren't too scared." He says when he's at the windows doors again.

"As long as you promise to control that animal."

"I will." He smiles. It's not a big one, but it's small and honest. She goes behind him to close the doors to the balcony once he steps through.

"Goodnight Zuko."

"Goodnight Katara."

She watches him jump down from the balcony and then disappear into the yard.

When she goes to Zuko's house the next morning it's Azula who answers the door. She's in a white FNPA -Fire Nation Prep Academy- t shift and jean shorts. Her long hair is down and she's got a book and an iPad in her hand.

She looks at Katara coldly. "You're here for my brother?"

"Yeah, is he here?"

"He's out in the field." She opens the door to let her in and closes it soundlessly behind her. When Katara turns to thank her she's already turning going up the stairs. Katara figures that she must not be too social. Zuko is out in the fields when she makes it, sitting on the fence and looking up at the clear blue sky. He's in a white shirt and jeans again, she thinks she prefers him this way, not that she's seen him any other way.

"What was your first love like?" He asks out of the blue. He looks down at her expecting an answer. "That is… if you've ever been."

"Of course I've been! That's a crazy question, why'd you ask that?"

He frowns. "Because I wanted to."

"Well. What I thought was love was a silly mockery of it. Love itself is a mockery really, it turns you into this totally different person. My first so called love was a waist of time, and I've wasted my time a lot. Not every I love you is real." She says lowly. "Why? Have you fallen in love with me already?"

"Not yet." He shakes his head. It's quiet then, and Katara switches her eyes down to the green grass.

"So why'd you move here?"

"To the horse fields?"

"To the country, Zuko."

"The city life I guess got to be too much, but it was my mother's idea to come here for only a summer but we ended up staying."

"So you like this more than the city?"

"It's interesting here. It used to be boring."

"What changed that?"

"You."

"Oh." Thats something that caught her off guard.

After that awkward moment, which she tries her hardest to stop thinking about, Zuko doesn't teach her how to ride because the demon horse that sneezed in her nose is pregnant by the other horse which has no name. She doesn't want to go near Onyx and the other horse is being anti social, so everything's out of the question now. She still stays with him and watches him clean out the stables, she would off her help but she hates getting dirty. After he's done he sits on the fence with her to watch the sunset. It's quiet between them but Katara doesn't mind and neither does he. He's just as comfortable as she is.

"What happened to your arm?" He asks when they're out in the driveway walking to her car. He grabs it to get a closer look at the purplish black bruise. He looks up at her with curiosity and mild concern, still holding her arm in his strong hand.

"I don't know. It wasn't there yesterday, I guess it just popped up." She pulls her arm away. It's the truth, it wasn't there yesterday. "I must've slept wrong."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure." She confirms. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, later." He watches her until she gets in her car and drives off down the road.

Later that night she tries to pull information out of Sokka. He's in the garage working on a dark grey 1970 Dodge Challenger. He's had that car since he turned thirteen when grandpapa gave it to him. He's dead now, the old man died peacefully in his sleep. Ever since then Sokka has been working on it and fixing it up to get it running and make it look presentable.

Katara stands on the steps that lead to the kitchen door with her hands tucked into her jacket pockets. "Do you need some help?" She asks.

"What do you want?" He grunts from under the hood.

"I want to help you with this car."

"Alright then. Hand me the wrench."

"Okay, wrench." She comes down the steps and looks into the big toolbox. "Um…" she looks over the many tools in confusion. She doesn't know a thing about tools, she doesn't even know what a wrench looks like. She picks up the first shiny object she sees and hands it to him. When he takes it and looks at it he leans off the car and throws his head back and sighs.

"This is why girls shouldn't be in the garage. This is a chisel Katara." He wipes his oily hands on his shirt and goes to the toolbox himself. "So what do you want?"

"I don't want anything I told you. I just want to-"

"-Ask me about Zuko?"

"How'd you know?"

"Because I'm your brother. I know damn near everything about you." He pulls out the so called wrench from the box and goes back up under the hood.

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend or something?"

Sokka scoffs. "If you wanna be in a relationship with him you'll have to get in line. Every eligible bachelorette in this town, not to mention the housewives and single mothers are trying to get with him. Let's not forget all the women in the city."

"I didn't ask you all of that, but thanks anyway."

Sokka sighs again. "He doesn't have one, well not any that I know of. I've known him for four years now, don't really think that relationships are his thing."

"Oh." She says. Maybe Zuko is type of person that likes relations instead of relationships. How can she talk? She doesn't have time for a relationship herself, she turns to leave.

"You like him don't you?"

"What? No!" She turns around.

"Quit lying Katara. You know damn well if it were anyone else who was supposed to teach you how to ride horses you wouldn't have gone back." He looks at her. "Why do you keep trying to hide how you feel about people?"

"I don't hide my feelings."

"Sure you don't. Look, Zuko's a good guy. I already know Yue told you how he's bad and all that other crap, but he's not. He has to be a good person for me to trust him with my sister." Sokka always had a way of figuring her out, he would always know things that she didn't tell him. It must be the twinetic powers or something.

"That's good to hear I guess. Im gonna go take it in for tonight."

"Sure, go ahead and text your boyfriend all night until you fall asleep." He jokes. Katara rolls her eyes and heads back Inside.

Once she's all back inside she showers and gets into one of her father's college t shirts, she can't believe she left it here. After writing in the last page of her notebook she lays in bed staring up at the ceiling with music in her ears.

She's almost dreading tomorrow, that's when she's supposed to receive her test results. She doesn't know what to expect, but if the worse were to happen she's already preparing.

To take her mind of it she thinks about Zuko. He's really a good person, well to her he is. It was weird of him to ask her about her first love and the truth is, she never really had one. She wonders if he's ever been and just didn't know it. Katara Half wishes that he comes back tonight, no, she does wish that he comes back tonight. She goes to his contact on her phone and stares at the number for a good ten minutes before she sends him a message. It's half past twelve, but she doesn't care.

_Why aren't you outside my window tonight throwing rocks Romeo?_

He texts back almost immediately.

_Because you're not my Juliet._

_I don't care._

_If you want me outside your window every night all you had to do was say so. I would've came._

_Well if you wanna ask me on a date all you had to do tell me._

_I want to go on a date with you._

_We can._

She stares at the little bubble on the screen that shows her he's still typing. Does she want to go on a date with him? She sighs when he doesn't text her back and lays her phone besides her. As soon as her head hits the pillow she falls asleep.

**.0.**

"Tell him to give it back!" Katara shouts from the stairs. "Give it back to me!"

Kya jumps at the sudden noise. She wipes the spilled tea from the table. "Give what back Katara?"

"Sokka has my phone and he won't give it back!"

"What's your lock code Katara?" Sokka asks from the base of the stairs. He has her phone in his hands trying desperately to unlock it so that he can read the rest of the text messages between her and Zuko. When she was in the bathroom straightening her hair he was in there as well trying to shave his hairless chin. Zuko just so happened to text her at that moment to tell her he'd be seeing her at seven. Before she could reach for it and reply Sokka snatched it, but luckily it locked.

Last night she woke up out of her sleep just to reply to his message. They were up all night texting, and then he called and they both ended up going to sleep on the phone. It was… nice. When she opened her window she found some rocks on her balcony with a note from Zuko.

Since you wanted them so badly.

He has a nice sense of humor.

"Just give it back Sokka." Kya says.

"Got it!" Sokka howls out in triumph. Katara's head snaps back at him before she dashed down the stairs and tackles him onto the hardwood floor.

"You two stop that foolishness!" Their mother orders. "If you break something so heaven help I'm going to skin the both of you!"

"Give it back to me, scum!" Katara grunts as she tries pry the phone from his hands. They wrestle across the floor and down the steps into the living room until she bites his band and snatches her phone back.

"She bit me!" He winces at the teeth marks on his hand. "Ouch!"

Katara moves her hair out of her eyes and sighs. "That's what you get!"

Kya ignores them both and goes back to her soap operas. While Sokka goes to nurse his hurting hand Katara goes through the mail that's on the small table in the foyer. She can hear Kya softly scolding Sokka about his new injury and shooing him away so that she can watch her show in peace. She eyes the envelope that's from her doctor before she tears it open and reads it.

She drops to her knees and heavy tears fall down her cheeks.

Her worst fear has finally been confirmed.

She's been diagnosed with AML.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

**.0.**

**Read and Review**


	4. Chapter 4

**Story Title**: Give Me Love

**Author:** XxToToXx

**Full Summary: ****Give Me Love is all your favorite romance movies rolled into one epic Zutara fanfic! Zuko, a man with a dark past is searching for something to make him feel, while Katara is trying to witness a miracle before it's too late. I'll come up with a better story summary later on. **

**A:N- I don't know if you guys actually read my notes or not but please read this one. I hope that you all take the time out to say a prayer, no matter what religion you are, for Antonio Martin, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, and all the other black men who were wrongfully shot and killed, it's really bothering me now. If you all don't know, Antonio Martin was hit by a officer and was alive doe thirty minutes before he died. The police did not call an ambulance but they called for crowd control, they put ****Antonio's**** body in the back of a mini van, like he was less than a human being. These men pleaded for their lives and no action has been taken. The police get away with murder, and they keep doing it over and over because they know that they can. Since I'm African American it makes me think back to the old days, you know what I mean when I say that. I don't have anything against the white race, I don't have anything against police officers. But what's wrong is wrong and marching doesn't seem to be doing any good. I won't label the entire lot of people based off the actions of one. I live in the south, Louisiana, and it's very depressing. Please don't have any controversy about this, I'm just putting this here to make you all aware. This has to be stopped, and an eye for an eye will only make the entire world blind.**

**Four **

Zuko is popular around town.

Since it's the summer and everyone's out of school and it's a movie premier night, there's a lot of people out on the streets. She doesn't know if it's just because he's a cool person or if it's because he's so attractive. She kicks a random rock on the sidewalk and runs her hands through her ponytail, the news from earlier is still taking its toll on her and she desperately hopes that she doesn't have an emotional breakdown while she's with Zuko.

She hasn't told her family yet, not even Yue. She doesn't know when she will but what she does know is that she has to prepare herself first. She can't bring a knife to a gun fight.

When she finally realizes that they've been walking through town a littler longer than usual "Where are we going anyway?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Well." He scratches the back of his head and looks a little unsure. "See, I had to ask Sokka and your father to take you out-"

"-what?" She stops on the sidewalk. He stops too and looks at her as he puts his hands in his jacket pocket. "You had to ask permission?"

"Of course I did."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? You're the baby of the family, of course I had to ask." He begins walking again and she has to job a little to catch up with him.

"I guess that's right. Your sister, she's really quiet." She doesn't seem very social. Shouldn't a girl like her have a crew of suitors and a click of females that are all just as gorgeous and rich as she is?

He scoffs. "She's more of a loner. Why? You plan on being her bestie?"

"I was just saying." She says back. "Look!" She grabs his sleeve and points to a stand in the park town square with a bright yellow sign that reads funnel cakes. That's her most favorite food ever! She hasn't had one in two weeks! Before she knows it Zuko is leading her there. His hand is so warm in comparison to her cold one.

He orders two for her, yes, for herself. He doesn't like them he says. They're far too sugary and fattening. They sit on the rim of the fountain in the square. There's someone playing music somewhere around them, the kind where someone sings and the passerby's pay them. It's a really nice tonight. It's kind of cool, the stars are shining. It's comfortable. Not too intimate but not too close either.

She picks off a piece and tries to give it to Zuko. "Eat it."

"No."

"What? Does it not have enough powder on it?"

"It's got too much- and you're adding more?" He watches almost in disbelief as she adds even more sugar to the cake.

"Just taste some, one time. You'll love it."

"No. It's disgusting."

"You've never even tried it."

"I didn't have to, just look at it."

"It's beautiful!"

"i don't care."

"Just one piece, Zuko."

"Katara."

"Yes?"

_"No."_

"Alright. Have it your way then." She gets up from the fountain and closes the top down on the Styrofoam box that's holding the last cake. He's so stubborn! He won't even try one piece of it! Let's be realistic here, who doesn't love funnel cakes? He gets up and comes behind her just like she thought he would, just like she hoped he would.

He catches up to her and grabs her by her waist to stop her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going home." She says confidently. "You're so scared to try a piece of my cake, so good night sir." She spins out of his grasp and twists off up the street. "You're such a mule, Zuko."

He comes behind her again. "You can't walk home Katara. You're like fifty miles away from your house and plus its dark."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't think I heard you. You don't think I know my way around this town?" She doesn't look back at him as she goes. Some random guy greets her as she passes but she barely acknowledges him. She's more into making Zuko give in so that he would at least try a small bit of the cake. But he doesn't want to, he's just stubborn as hell.

"I'll try the damn cake then if you stop behaving as a child." He finally gives in and she whips back around as soon as the words leave his mouth. She opens the box for him and expects him to get his own piece. From his expression it's the last thing that he wants to do. He does it anyway, an aggravated look of disgust before he swallows it down.

"Now was that so hard?"

"Yes it was."

"So how'd it taste?"

"Like id tell you."

"Well." She hunches up her shoulders. "That's good enough for me I guess."

And when he smiles she smiles back, and that smile stays on her face the rest of her night.

When he walks her up the front porch steps h tells her goodnight, but he doesn't give her a goodnight kiss. She doesn't expect one really, but when she's inside the house with her back on the door she wishes that he would've. It would've been nice, but they aren't together. She doesn't what they are exactly. When she hears his car pull off she lets out a breath that she didn't she was

"Look what the cat finally dragged in." Katara jumps at the sound of her father's voice. The lamp in the living room is switched on and Hakoda site in the big arm chair in a t shirt and his favorite Cookie Monster pajamas.

Yes, Cookie Monster.

"It's damn near one o'clock in the morning." He stands up and crosses his strong arms over his chest. "Just what were you two doing?"

"Can I first start off by saying that I'm nearly. Twenty years old and I've been around-"

"-I told him have you back here by ten, it's way that Katara."

"Well we got caught up. We went to a movie, to town square, and then we went for a walk through the park. I didn't know it was a crime for me to have fun." She takes off her jacket and slings it over her shoulder. "I bet ma didn't have a problem with this." Shes halfway up the stairs when he speaks again.

"That's not the point Katara."

"Then what is the point?"

"It's the point that you barely know this boy and you're out this late with him, when I clearly told him to have you back here at a certain time."

"So now you don't like him?"

"I just don't think that he's the right one for you, Katara."

"What bought this all on? Sokka likes him and ma obviously doesn't have a problem with him, it's just you and your crazy rules!"

"That's because Sokka is his friend and feels like everyone deserves a second and third chance." He comes as far as the first steps of the stairs. "He's a good boy in some areas, well, now he is. Your mother is going to agree with everything concerning you."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"I don't think it's good for you to be… dating him. I've had more than enough time to think this over."

"You can't tell me who I can and can't see!"

A bedroom door opens behind her and Kya now stands at the top of the stairs in her pajamas. "Just what is all this ruckus about?" She hates to be pulled out of her sleep more than anything. Now she's going to be grouchy for the rest of the week. Sokka isn't going to wake up, he can sleep through a hurricane.

He's done it before.

Still, this isn't the first time that Katara and Hakoda have been at a disagreement behind another male. There was Jet, who she's left to go to the city with. She looks back at kya. "He doesn't want me to see Zuko anymore."

"Why not?" She looks down at her husband disapprovingly. "I trust Zuko, me and his mother always-"

"-Have tea and gossip about whatever goes on in this damned town." Hakoda then puts his attention back on Katara, and his shoulders are squared. "He bought her back way too late. Do you two not see what time it is?" He's grumbling now and his bright eyes are flashing. "I don't want her seeing him anymore, do you know what probably could've happened? I gave him one rule, and that's it! He broke it!" The hand gestures that he's using make his loose hair flow this way and that, he's really mad. Though Katara doesn't really care, he can't tell her what to do.

"Cut her some slack, let her live her life!" Yeah, let her live her life before it's too late.

"I don't think that it's understood around here that she's our only daughter!"

"You can't keep me locked up in this house like some kind of prisoner." Katara continues up the stairs but Kya stops her with a firm hand on her shoulder and she squeezes gently.

"She's right, Hakoda."

"Well apparently we can't keep her locked up like that, she's already basically done everything that she's wanted to!" Katara moves her mother's hand off of her gaol see and tries as hard as she can not to escalate he argument any higher than it already is.

Though Kya is the opposite, she's way more understanding and freer than her husband. "Go ahead on to bed now, we can talk about your date with Zuko in the evening." Kya always deals with Hakoda when it's like this, it may be about her but right now, looking at her mother's current aggravated expression, this isn't Katara's fight.

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow." Katara finally agrees. She doesn't look down the stairs at her father again, she just heads on down the hall to her own room and slams the door behind her. She locks it this time and even puts a chair behind it to make sure that no one comes in. She was supposed to put the last few pieces of her cake in the fridge but since every thing has happened with her father, she isn't going back down there anytime soon. She places the box on her dresser and as she's taking off her shirt she catches a glimpse of something on her pillow through the mirror.

She turns around and goes to examine it. It's a thornless red rose, the one that Zuko had given her. She thought that she'd dropped it somewhere, her eyes move over to the open French doors, where the wind is casually blowing the sheer curtains with its cool night air. Walking over to them she finds a note, it's writing with Zuko's handwriting.

Quit leaving your window open, people are crazy.

Zuko

She smiles at it like an idiot before she tucks it safely in her pillow and lays the flower on her nightstand. She doesn't know who Zuko was before she met him, but he obviously isn't that person now.

**.0.**

The next morning she eats almost four plates of food breakfast. Kya is a wonderful cook, and she's cooked all of Katara's favorite foods, probably in attempt to make up for her husband's behavior last night. The grits are cheesy and creamy, the scrambled eggs and says haw patties and links are just right. Let's not forget the cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip waffles with a side of buttery pancakes. The apple juice is so refreshing and cold, she can't remember the last time that it was this good, that and the freshly squeezed orange juice.

"Well I'll be child, when was the last time you had a good meal?" Her mother asks with her hands on her hips. "You act like you haven't ate in ages."

Sokka, whose dumping almost an entire container of whipped cream followed by a small bowl of diced berries looks up. "She must've worked up an appetite last night with Zuko." Then he pauses. "Wait, that didn't sound too right…"

"It was great." She only says.

"I hope it wasn't too great."

"It should've been."

"Katara." Kya says. "Don't get too ahead now." She turns back to the dishes and leans out to look into the driveway. "I hope it doesn't rain today, I want to finish my garden."

"It song rain, at least thats what the news people said." Katara tells her. "But they don't always know what they're talking about."

"Please tell me that Yue isn't coming over here tonight again!" Sokka whines when Katara's phone beeps on the charger besides him and he looks at the screen. "All that noise and girly crap again."

Katara gets up and unplugs it. "Of course she is, we don't bother you anyway."

"I need some meat and rice from the store. Sokka, can you-"

"-He's already gone." Katara announces when she sees him jump from the table with his plate In hand. He hates grocery shopping but he loves to eat up all the food. "I can go." It's not like she's doing anything else at the moment, even though she just wants to lie down and sleep. It's so pretty outside today, when she comes back she'll go out by the lake and watch the ducks swim in the water.

_No, no she's not._

She almost forgot how they would chase her for bread.

"Make sure to get the reddest meat that you can find, and the freshest rice." She scribbles down a list of other things for her to get from the market and then rips the pink paper from the notepad. "Whatever you do, please don't forget the potatoes either. It'll be hard to make a decent dinner without the proper side." After she goes into her wallet and pulls out her designer wallet and gives her the money Katara snatches her car keys off of the wall and goes into the garage.

She bought her own car, after trading in the car that her parents bought her, and got something that was more her style. How cool is a brand spanking new royal blue up to date Altima right? She mostly fell in love with the tan and black interior, the wood grain accent and the elegance of it all. It's perfect for her.

Then she realizes, this is the first time she's driven since she's been back. She's really been walking to the places she has to go, it helps her think, helps her cope. Next week she has a doctors appointment to go to, and she hopes that maybe the doctor made a mistake or something. Maybe he can just clear everything up and make it all better but Katara can only hope, and hope is so fragile.

The market isn't swarming with people.

That's a good thing because she really doesn't feel like being stopped by anyone, she doesn't want to catch up with them. She gets everything on her mother's list and after she loads the groceries into the trunk she walks across the street to the local bookstore. It's been here since this town was first built and they don't get many new releases, it won't hurt to check and see though. The inside of the stone building is homey and warm, it's almost like a log cabin on the inside, it even has a fireplace to accommodate the hundreds and hundreds of shelves.

She doesn't see the owner, she's probably somewhere passed out drunk. Her husband left her a couple of years back, he found a younger to be with and share his wealth with and that was that. Katara figures that he shouldn't have led her on like that. If he didn't love her and if he knew he never would love her the right way he should have proposed.

But who she does see, curled up in an arm chair by the fireplace with a thick book in her ivory hands, is Azula Agni. The light knit sweater that she's wearing is draping from one shoulder, her legs are pulled up under her and a cup of whatever she's drinking is on the small table besides her. Katara hasn't seen her with anyone else since she's been here. Maybe she really is a loner like she'd thought before.

She lets her be. She doesn't want to disturb her, she may just have a bad temper because she's so quiet. But even when she's skimming through the rows and rows of novels to choose from she keeps glancing over at the other girl. Does she have any friends? Does she have a boyfriend? Do her and Zuko get along very well?

She pulls a random book from the shelf and before she knows it she's already standing in front of her subject of examination. "Hi." She says politely with a small wave. "I'm Katara, you're Azula, right?" Of course she's Azula, who else would she be?

"That's right." She looks up from her book briefly and her golden eyes are shimmering. Zuko's eyes doesn't do that, or do they? She's never noticed. She looks surprised that she's here, why?

"That's a good book, To Kill a Mockingbird. I read it last year."

"Is there something that you wanted?" She abruptly asks. "It's not often that people come up to me just to discuss a book."

Oh. Katara reels back on her heels and thinks of what to say next. "I know we aren't friends or anything, but do you wanna come over to the lake house tonight? My cousin and I are just gonna hang out and most likely just mess around… doing a bunch of nothing really." There's nothing else to do really, sokka won't be there because he's going off into the city with somebody named Chan, Hahn and Sangok are going with them. "But it's going to be good and stuff." She adds.

"Girl stuff? No thank you." She says lightly. Katara takes that as the end of the conversation, Azula returns back to her book and never looks up again.

Maybe she's just antisocial.

Katara decides to leave her alone and puts the book back on the shelf before she leaves.

**.0.**

"There's my boy!" Katara hears her father yell when she's washing up the dishes in the kitchen. She looks out the window and into the backyard where Sokka and Hahn are practicing football. Katara doesn't know where he's been all day, maybe at work? She doesn't know his schedule anymore. She still isn't talking to him, not after what he said.

"Never took you for the homemaker type." She nearly jumps at the sound of his voice. When she spins around Zuko is standing in the doorway that connects to the foyer living area, wearing a regular white t shirt and jeans. The sight of him makes her heart skip a beat, even though she hasn't seen him since last night.

Which felt like forever.

"Do you always wash dishes with gloves on?"

His eyes dart from her hands back up to her face and he half smiles. "You're that much of a germ freak?"

"N-No, I'm not. I just don't like messing my nails up." She turns back around. Kya must have let him in, her father probably doesn't even know he's here.

"School is about to start."

"Yeah."

"Have you made up your mind?"

"About what?"

"Going back and finishing."

"No. I'm not going back." She pulls the drain up from the sink and let's the water out. "I told you that."

He comes up behind her and puts his arms under hers. Since he's way taller than her head brushes the front of his chest and even So she can still feel the hardness of his muscles and the tingling sensation of his warmth. He's reaching into the side of the sink that have the clean white dishes in them.

"Look." He half whispers, making her look at the antique glass plate, his breath fans her ear. "You missed a spot."

The small smudge of what appears to be potato salad "Seriously?" His arms retract from around her like he'd never even touched her. She instantly misses his presence, when she turns around though, he's gone.

What's with him?

From eavesdropping she learns that he's going with Sokka and the others into the city tonight. She kind of wishes that he would've chosen to stay. As a matter of fact everyone's leaving, even Kya, whose gone off to her book club. Her father who still hasn't said a word to her, is gone to his brother's house. Even Suki is gone off somewhere.

So it's just her and Yue now, sprawled across the living room sofas with multiple candy wrappers and chip bags are spread on the coffee table. Katara has her phone in her hands and it's showing the message thread between her and Zuko. Should she text him? Hell, probably not.

"I tried to he to get Azula over here she told me no."

"Azula Agni?"

"That's the only Azula here."

"But like..." Yue sits upright on the sofa and slings her hair behind her shoulder. "Why?"

"She doesn't look like she's much of a socialite. I just thought she'd like to come."

"Where'd you see her at?"

"At the bookstore."

"Yeah she's always there. She doesn't be with anyone actually. The boys are too scared of her because of Zuko and the girls all thinks she's stuck up."

"Is she? She didn't seem that way to me."

"No one really knows. All she did in school was read and study and stay to herself." Yue shrugs a shoulder and nonchalantly texts someone on her phone. "She's really smart. I know that much."

"What did Zuko do?"

"… Uh, that's a dumb question."

"How?"

"Because Azula is goddess like beautiful with a body to match, that's a trap Katara. You know how boys are about their little sisters."

_Oh. _

Yue looks up to check her expression and then lowers her eyes back down to her phone. "Kind of like when you hit puberty. I'm an only child so I didn't have that problem." She laughs lightly. "I Arnook says he's getting me the iPhone six for when school starts. Tell me how great is that?"

"Spectacular."

"If you're going to sit here moping about the Agni Heir all night please, I don't want to be a part of that."

"I'm _not_ thinking about that boy."

"Then why are you holding your phone and just staring at the screen?"

Katara doesn't answer her cousin's question. She lets her phone fall down on the floor and crosses her arms over her chest.

"So you like him?"

"Who?"

"You know who."

"Zuko?"

"No shit, Katara."

"No I don't like him." She gets off the sofa and picks her phone up from the floor. There's no damage to it but she's still tired of it. Maybe she should tell her father to go and get her the six and call a truce with him. Sokka has it, she doesn't know how he did to get it. He doesn't have any money anymore, maybe Suki got it for him. The house phone rings and Katara goes into the kitchen to answer it.

"Why didn't you text me back? Why didn't you answer when I called you Katara?" It's Kya, she sounds so urgent over the phone but there's laughter and loud talking in the background. The book club she goes to, they never really even talk about books. They just gather up to drink and gossip.

"I didn't know you called."

"I called your cell phone twice."

"I never knew." Then she sighs when she realizes that she put her phone on do no disturb. There's no telling whose been trying to call or text her. "I forgot I had my phone on do not disturb, that's why I didn't get anything."

"Just make sure you take that damned thing off, what if it would've been an emergency?"

"I know-"

"-WHAT? I'll have you know, that I was head cheerleader in high school and college!" She yells to someone in the background with a slurred tone. "_I married the quarterback!_"

When she screams into the receiver Katara has to pull the phone away from her head and when she looks behind her into the living room Yue has that look on her face, one that clearly says she heard what Kya said. But who wouldn't have heard?

"I'll call you back, dear." Then she hangs up and Katara puts the phone back down. All this time she hasn't been getting any type of notifications from anyone, and it was because of that stupid setting. When she turns to take a step she almost loses her balance, it feels like all the energy out of her body is being drained quicker than she can handle. She holds onto the island in the kitchen, damn near out of breath and hoping that Yue hasn't noticed her behavior. She lays her head down on the

"We should've went to the city." Yue says. "I bet it's so live right now- it's not too late!" Then she can hear her coming into the kitchen, the perfume she's wearing makes someone smell her before they can actually see her.

Katara manages to lift "I'm not really feeling too good, I'm just gonna call it a night."

She looks heartbroken, but she nods in understanding. "As a matter of fact you don't look too good, you're looking a little pale."

"Swear!"

"Really, but maybe it's just a bug that'll pass. Tomorrow we can go down to the lake and get some sun." She suggests. Katara loves going down to the lake and taking small trips to the beach, but right now she really isn't feeling it.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Oh, okay." She says. "I'm gonna run home and get my mani kit, I'll be right back." Yue waves to her when she's going out of the door. Katara manages to pull herself up from the island and make it to her room without fail. The only thing she has on her mind is going to sleep, Yue knows where the spare keys are so she won't have to get out of bed to let her in again.

When she's taking off her shirt and glimpses in the mirror she catches sight of something dark on her side. She looks down at it, it's s bruise, a big one this time. They've been coming so easily lately and she fears that it may get more and more noticeable. All she did earlier was bump into the stool in the kitchen and that was it, she didn't expect a bruise to form.

But now and should be expecting everything. She'll have to see if she can go to her doctor sooner than later, just so she can get some reassurance. Katara's scared, but she won't give up on hope. That's the only thing she really has right about now. She gets out the rest of her clothes and searches for new ones to sleep in in her dresser, baffled when she doesn't find any. Then she remembers how she didn't wash anything last night, or the day before, or the day before that. Hell, she really hasn't washed since she's been here. She's lucky enough to find a t shirt way in the back of her chesser drawer and slips it on.

"Why don't you ever lock your window doors?" She jumps at the sudden sound and whips around. How long has he been there? What all did he see? She isn't too much upset about the fact that he's here, but it's just how unannounced he is, she was indecent!

"What are you doing here?" She tries to pull down shirt, but it's no use. It still hangs right below her thighs.

Zuko doesn't notice it though, at least she doesn't think he does. "I told you I was coming."

"No you didn't."

"I did. I texted you."

She never fixed her phone back. She doesn't even have it up here with her. Zuko casually flips through her notebook and Katara has to snap out of her thoughts to go over snd snatch it away from his hands. "Why aren't you with the others?"

"It got boring."

"It got boring so you came here?" She slides her notebook into her dresser drawer and closes it shut. "I'm not your entertainment."

"I didn't come for you to be."

"Then why did you come?"

"Because I forgot something last night." He softly replies after a moment of silence. When she turns around he's merely inches away from her. The smooth and masculine scent of the cologne he's wearing almost makes her lose her focus.

"What did you forget?" She dares to ask, although she knows for a fact that he didn't forget anything.

Then, all in one second, his arms are around her waist pressing her body against his and his lips are parted over her own. Katara isn't that shocked at first, but she still is a little bit surprised by it but she welcomes him. Her hands reach up to his cheeks and pulls him to her more, relishing in his warmth and strong arms. It's soft and sweet but at the same time it's demanding and unlike anything she's ever experienced before, the one things she's wanted from him. He tastes like wine, warm wine with a refreshing splash of cream and honey.

She loves it.

Right now, nothing else really matters to her except this moment.

When he squeezes her tighter against him again his lips move down to her jaw and to the spot under her ear that makes her let out a small moan from the back of her throat. She leans into him more and wrap her arms around his neck. He's so hard and warm, being this close to him makes her feel something that she hasn't felt in a long time.

Safe.

They stay locked like that for almost forever and neither of them tries or wants to move. When Zuko's hands drop from around her waist to on her hips he exhales a comfortable breath into her neck, and she closes her eyes and buries her face deeper into the crook of his neck. What does this mean? What are they now? They've certainly passed the friend stage.

Then his hands grip into her skin but it doesn't hurt, it's not painless either. He kisses a line on down to her collarbone before he slowly pulls away from her and kisses her forehead.

"That." He moves her hair back out of her face and tucks it away behind her ear. "Good night Katara." That's it? He _does_ give her not one, but two more when he's at the doors again. She tries to make him stay after the second one, she held onto the fabric of his shirt until he gently pried them off.

After he tells her goodnight she watches him disappear over the railing. Still feeling warm and with the lingering touches his fingertips left on her skin she sleeps peacefully that night, dreaming of him and him only.

**.0.**

**Read and review. **


	5. Chapter 5

**tory Title**: Give Me Love

**Author**: XxToToXx

**Full Summary**:

(**A:N) okay, I know I did this in the last chapter as well but it's really bothering me and the news isn't making it any better. 200,000 people were killed in an attack by the boko haram group in Africa. In Syria children are starving to death, being dismembered, raped, killed and I just find it horrible. Not only them, but Paris, ferguson, Massachusetts, Iraq… it's not just withheld in these cities and countries. We shouldn't be separated like this, something has to be done. Personally, I don't care about someone's race or their religion (as long as it isn't satanism) it's about a persons heart. It's just sad because nothing's being done about it. So all we can do is pray. This isn't how the world is supposed to be. **

**Five**

When she was fifteen she got tired of that small backwoods town. She was tired of the people, the appearance of it all, the _dryness_.

It's nothing but swamps, historical houses, woods, and people as old as time who always have a story to tell. Katara got sick of the same routine; wake up, go to school, practice, home. On weekends she'd either go to the same old movie theater or just roam around the town square. On Sunday's she would have to go to church and be forced to spend hours with the women of the congregation talking about -what Katara considers- to be the stupidest things.

The tea parties, dressing up, community clean ups and picnics, it all became a bore to her. She needed more out of life, she needed to be free and experience the world. She was never going to live fully if she was stuck in that town. Sokka was lucky because he's a male, he got more freedom than she did. And over the years he's become a great football player, he was the quarterback. Just like her father was in high school and college, and Kya was the head cheerleader. It's a bit cliche but Katara still considers it sweet.

When she'd announced that she wanted to leave the city and go out into the world her mother though it was a great idea. Sokka didn't agree, and her father went into a rage and that ultimately made her dash off to live with her God mother in the city. She continued school there though, but she ended up quitting. She never finished her last year of college, she was too busy having fun. She met new people, experienced new things, she had the time of her life.

Then the bruising started coming.

Then there were the rashes and mouth sores.

It kept getting worse and worse until she finally went to the doctor. He'd ran some tests and told her that it _looked_ like cancer. She was petrified then. Katara decided to go home and be with her family for a while until the results came back. And when they came back they destroyed her.

You know what's worse? They don't know what caused it.

Its something that just popped up they say, maybe it was inherited. Her mother is perfectly healthy, she always was and so were her parents. Her father is too, including his parents. Sokka was never sick a day in his life, and neither was she except for the time they had the chickenpox.

Since its acute that means it's fast acting. It has started inside of her bone marrow, and Katara absolutely is terrified about that. She's seen on television shows how some people have to get bone marrow transfusions. It looks like it's really painful. No, it's beyond painful. Cancer of her blood and marrow. She looks down at the white sterile floor in disbelief. Who would've thought?

So the mysterious bruising, the dizzy spells, fatigue, and none pain have all been confirmed.

At nineteen, at the height of her life, at the ripe start of adulthood, she's already dying.

What is she going to tell her family? How is she going to explain this to them? It's enough that she was gone all that time without so much as a call or a letter. They were probably worried sick about her and she just didn't care. She can't help but feel that the doctors assumption was right, she doesn't know why.

They've giving her a boatload of medicine to take, scheduled her up with appointments and have taken blood test after blood test. He couldn't give her a time, he doesn't really know how much time she's going to have left here. He mentioned chemotherapy and everything else after that is a blur. Her mind has gone so blank when he confirmed her diagnosis and she thought that she was gong pass out right then and there, but she didn't.

Now she sits on a wooden bench in the park with her notebook in her hands. She's made a bucket list earlier on, it's just a list of things that she wanted to do before she got old and die. Now she won't be getting old, when she leaves this place she's going to be young, beautiful, with skin that snaps back like a rubber band. She stares down at it for half an hour before she gets up and throws it into the garbage can besides her. She won't be able to do any of those things anymore, she may as well give up.

It's saddening when she thinks about the short amount of time that she has left but she can't cry. If she sheds one tear she knows that she won't be able to stop the rest of them.

"Katara?" She looses behind her at her name being called and her heart lurches a little. The man who called her stands tall in his grey sweatpants and black muscle shirt that's a little damp from sweat. His skin is a bit lighter than hers and his coffee colored hair is messy and wild, he looks at her carefully as if deciding if he should strike up a conversation with or just keep on running or walking.

"What are you doing back here?" He walks up to her as he's taking his earbuds out of his ears. Those puppy dog eyes of his are shining in the bright sunlight and Katara realizes that's why she had fallen for him in the first place.

"I had some business to take care of." She replies lowly. "I was just leaving anyway." She's lying but he doesn't know that. She turns her back to him and takes a step to leave.

"No, wait." He catches her by her wrist and turns her around. "Why haven't you been calling or anything? I was getting worried." He lets go of her wrist and stares at her.

"It's only been like a week and some days maybe Jet."

"It felt like longer than that to me."

"Yeah, I bet it did."

"Why must you have a sarcastic response for everything?"

"I don't have one for everything, just for you,"

Why wouldn't she? Jet has never met Jet, meaning he doesn't know the type of person who he really is. If he ever had to meet himself he wouldn't like him. She's known him for four years now and it doesn't look like he's going to be changing anytime soon.

He has a remark for her but he changes his mind about it. "Are you here for good?"

"No, I'm going back home. To my real home i mean."

"Oh." An awkward silence comes between them and she instantly wishes that he never would've stopped to talk to her at all. They hadn't left off on good terms, it's was messy and loud and emotional. It still hurts when she thinks about it.

"You wanna go and get something to eat before you leave?" He says suddenly. "We can catch up and stuff, it'll just be a minute."

She slowly shakes her head. "I don't think-"

"-Katara. Please." His voice has turned softer than its usually is and his eyes are serious. "It wouldn't hurt."

_Yes it would_. But still, she walks with him to a local cafe that they always used to go to. She orders a small cup of apple juice that she doesn't touch even though she's beyond thirsty. Jet watches her every move but he doesn't say anything, he never does. It's like he's trying to figure out what's going on with her on his own. Instead of looking up to meet his gaze she takes in the scenery outside of the glass window. The streets are busy, horns are honking loudly and a million people are trying to scramble to their destinations all at the same time. Nothing has changed here, it's still loud and live.

It's nothing like where she's from. Where she's from its quiet, peaceful. Everything is serene and guarded by the best of nature.

She met Jet her very first day in the city. He would come and help her God mother out around the house, but before that she'd met him at a concert, never really paid much attention to him until she saw him the second time. Back then Katara thought that he was nothing but a pompous, womanizing, bastard, which he was. When they started spending more and more time together she began to see major changes in him, he started thinking about his decisions and caring more about the feelings of others. He stayed out of trouble and got his life together, left that stupid gang of his alone and finished college like he was supposed to.

Somewhere between all the fights and constant bickering and confrontations she'd fell in love with him and then things got complicated. When they'd broken up it was messy, just like it was when told him she was going back home. Their separation was mostly his fault but Katara had done her share of dirt too.

It was a good three years even though it was three years down the drain, but it was still good. She wouldn't change a thing about it.

Jet clears his throat to get her attention. "So how's life back there?"

"Its… different."

"In a good way?"

"Yeah, kind of." She looks back at the window. "What are you doing these days?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" The waitress comes back to refill his coffee cup, leaning down more than necessary to pour it. Then after smiling at him she twists back into the kitchen. She's going to find another excuse to come back later on just to try and get his attention.

"I've just been working mostly." He tells her, staring down into his steaming cup. "Snagged a spot at the best mechanic shop in he city."

"That's nice. No girlfriend?"

"What do you mean?" He raises his head and looks at her with mild annoyance and confusion.

"Well, you've got a good job now and from the looks of it you're doing pretty good. I'm surprised that Smellerbee hasn't hounded you down yet to snatch you away." She leans back in her chair. "Again, might I add."

"Can we not do this now?"

"We don't have to."

"Yeah, and I don't want to. It's been a along two weeks Katara. When are you coming back for good?"

"I don't think i am." She says. "No, I'm not coming back."

"Why not?"

"I'm spending time with my family."

"And that new guy right?"

"What new guy?"

"The one who put this shit on your neck." He reaches across the table and flicks his finger over a sore spot that she didn't even know was there. She jumps back and Sears his hand away before she feels it himself. It's fresh and its tender but Katara doesn't know how or- _oh_. The bruising is just another symptom. They're getting more visible now. She pulls her shirt back up.

"No one did this to me."

Jet shifts on his chair and glares at her harder. "Oh yeah?"

"it's true!"

"Right."

"You know what?" She pushes her chair back and stands. "I dont care what you think about it or how you feel." Since she said it a little louder than she should have a couple pairs of eyes have rolled their way. She doesn't care, Jet's jealous. He's always been jealous, so convinced that there's always someone else other than him. There is, there's Zuko, but he doesn't need to know that. It isn't his business at all.

"Alright, I'm sorry." He apologizes when she turns to leave. "It's just…" he sighs heavily and rakes his hand through his hair. "I miss you, Katara."

"I know that." Still, she turns her back to him with intentions on making a hasty escape.

"We need to fix this the right way."

She cringes. There's nothing for them to fix really. Even If there were, she would just end up hurting him all over again. Katara cannot pull herself to tell Jet the news, he would freak out on her so badly.

"I can't be with you again Jet." What she's going to tell him is going to hurt him but it's for his own good. She would rather have it this way than any other way. She has to push him away. "There's someone else I'm seeing right now. I'm not… I'm not leaving him."

She can feel his eyes boring into her back. She bites her lip and prepares herself for what comes next.

Nothing comes. She looks over her shoulder, he's standing now and coming over to her. His eyes are blank and his lips are set in a thin line. Yes, again, her words have hurt him. She expects for a snarky remark, a public fight, anything. Instead of scolding her and threatening her, he hugs her tightly and buries his head in her neck. He's warm and it's comforting, but this isn't what she wants.

"Then he better treat you right. If he doesn't, I'll kill him." He squeezes her a little and she hugs him back before he pulls away. That a pretty serious statement since her and Zuko really aren't even together.

But he doesn't need to know that.

"It'll be fine." She drops her arms back down her sides. "I'll keep touch with you though."

Jet nods. "Do that."

"Goodbye Jet." And he doesn't even know that this could probably be there last time seeing each other.

**.0.**

She tries to figure something out on the way back home. She gets nothing, and to stop from taking with a panic attack she quits thinking about it altogether. When she makes it home though no ones there. Kya is most likely at the grocery store making groceries for the third time this week and her father is away at work. She has no clue on where Sokka is, which is a good thing. As long as he isn't here she can rest. When she makes it to her bedroom she undresses and sinks under the covers on her soft mattress. As soon as her head hits the pillow she's pulled into a deep sleep.

When she wakes up again it's six in the afternoon. She didn't mean to sleep this late. She can hear the loud talking and laughing coming from downstairs, it sounds like it's a full house. Her family gets together a lot, especially during football season. Then it's Friday as well, they might not even leave. She has half the mind To go back to bed, but her empty stomach wants her to feed it. As soon as she stands and pulls on some shorts she's tired again, so she gets back into the bed for a second nap. Skipping one meal won't kill her.

This time she's awakened by Sokka barging his way into her room. She covers her head up and rolls over. Maybe he'll just go away.

"_Kah-ta-raaaah_!" He shakes her shoulder violently. "What are you pregnant or something? Get up!" He rips away her covers and throws them on the floor.

"What do you want?" She shoves him away. He almost falls backwards onto the floor but he quickly catches himself by grabbing onto the nightstand.

"Ma says to come and eat something."

"Not hungry. Get out." The hunger she felt earlier is now somehow gone, but she does want to eat. "Bring me a plate up."

"No way. I'm just supposed to get you up."

"Who all is downstairs?"

"Arnook, Sangok, Hahn, Bato, Tonraq and just about everyone else." He shrugs a shoulder. "Mrs. Agni and azula are here too, they're out on the patio."

"Azula?"

"Yeah, you know her. She's Zuko's sister."

"Zuko isn't here?"

"Nope. I don't know where your boyfriend is."

"He isn't my boyfriend!"

"Yeah right." He mocks on his way out of the door.

Katara rolls onto her back and stares up at the ceiling. She's really surprised that she was able to talk to Sokka without having the memories from earlier cloud her mind. Now she's going to have to face her mother and father and pretend that everything's okay.

Then there's Zuko too.

In a way she's glad that he isn't here. She doesn't want to fake anything around him. After getting out of her bed she checks get phone for anything new. Nothing, no phone calls or text messages. She sticks it into her pocket and leaves out her Bedroom. She takes her assigned medicine out of the bottles and puts them in her pocket. She's never taken any medicine like this before and she has no clue on what could happen to her. When she's going down the stairs and makes it to the landing she's almost hit in the head by a flying football.

"Sorry about that!" It's Hahn, hes standing in the formal dining room and tossing he football from one hand to the other with a big grin on his face.

"Don't be sorry, she should've watched where she was going." Sangok says from her right in the living room. "She always was clumsy."

"Excuse me? This is my house. Why are you even in here? Shouldn't you be in the den or something with everyone else?" The nerve of him to try and talk stupid to her in her own house. If her mother sees them throwing around a ball inside of her house she'd knock all the color out of their skin.

"He's waiting on Azula to come back." Hahn says. When he sees Katara's surprised expression he grins and his eyes flash mischief. "Oh, you don't know?"

"I don't even want to know." She brushes past a blushing Sangok and goes through the living room to the kitchen. There's containers of food from everywhere, drinks and all different types of drinks. Just as she's opening up one Styrofoam container she hears cheers coming from down the opposite hall, that's where the man cave is as Sokka and Hakoda calls it.

"Crawfish!" She gasps happily as she gazes at the steaming red crustaceans in the box. She's forgotten that they're in season, this is real the best part about summer in the country parts, seafood! Katara bets they're seasoned good too. She goes through the rest of the bags and finds more boiled meats and even crabs, but she's more into the boiled neck bones. She puts it all on a food tray and goes into the ice box for something to drink. After contemplating her many selections she finally chooses a small bottle of juice and closes the door.

"Where do you want this?" Someone asks. It's Azula. She's standing in the entryway of the kitchen holding an aluminum tray that's covered with Reynolds wrap. The red and black loose flannel shirt she's wearing is rolled up at the sleeves and the buttons are undone, showing off the white tank top she has underneath and the stonewashed shorts broadcasts her long legs.

She's dressed a little differently. Her hair is down and parted in the middle and she has only the slightest bit of makeup on. She wonders if she knows that Sangok likes her.

Probably not.

Katara is more into the tray and she hopes its fried chicken. It sure does smell like it.

"You can just put it on the island." Azula does so and then washes her hands in the sink.

Katara turns around and takes the pills out of her pocket. When she senses that Azula isn't looking she swallows them down with the juice. They're disgusting! She almost throws them back up.

"Are you going to the local college here or to RCU?"

"Huh?" Katara faces her. She's drying her hands on a paper towel.

"What school are you going to?"

"I'm not going to any actually." She replies after she clears her throat. "You?"

"FNA." Fire Nation Academy? That's so far away from here. She doesn't want to go to the college here or in the city?

"Why so far?"

"I need a change of scenery. My father graduated from there with honors, I'm going to do the same." Such determination snd sureness in her voice. But that school is so strict and disciplined. Doesn't she want to have fun?

"And Zuko?"

"He's going too."

"Oh." Katara looks down at her tray of food. Zuko is leaving as well, but why? Why doesn't he just go to United Nations? It's the closet college there is even though it's a few hours away. Sokka and all the others are going to RCU. Why can't he? There's a month left before school starts again, maybe something will change.

Then, as if she'd said nothing at all Azula leaves out the kitchen and goes out on the patio. Katara hoists herself up into one of the stools at the island and starts peeling one of the bright red crawfish, or mudbugs as her mother calls them. They taste even more delicious than they look! Even though her appetite has been half ruined by what Azula said she still has to put something in her stomach.

Suki comes into kitchen, a little nervous and shaken up about something. She quietly sits across the island from her with her hands tucker into a varsity hoodie. "Hey."

"Hey." Katara responds back without taking her eyes off of her food. "What's up with the extra large?" She means the extra large jacket that she's wearing. It's the middle of summer, the days are hot and the nights are pretty warm. So what does she have on a jacket for?

"It's just cold Is all."

"It's in the eighties out there."

"Well, I just like the jacket!"

"Sure. You want a beer or something?" Katara asks her when she's going back to the ice box. She has to lean down to reach the beets

"I'm not supposed to be drinking."

Katara freezes just as she's reaching for the bottle of beer at the back of the fridge. Suki? No drinking? She withdraws her hand and slowly leans up, hesitating a moment before she finally turns to face Suki. Then she sees it.

"Oh my God…" she whispers to herself with wide eyes and an open mouth. This just _cannot_ be real. "Suki, you're pregnant aren't you?" Maybe it's just a wild guess, or maybe it's the way that Suki is sitting at the island with that humongous jacket on being picky over a fruit bowl.

The color drains from her face and she she looks back down at the island. This is trouble, this is so much trouble. Sokka is in his last year of college, his most important year and not to mention he's involved in sports which means that he's going to have to work extra hard to stay on the team. Suki has already graduated but still. Her parents are going to go crazy when they find about this.

"Don't tell anyone." She pleads silently and gets down from the stool. "Especially your parents."

"It's not my place to tell. Does Sokka know? How far along are you?"

"Two months. And Sokka knows, he knew the same day."

"When are you going to tell your parents?"

"I don't know. I may not tell them at all."

"What about ours?"

"Sokka says that he'll handle that part." Suki says in a laugh. "Just don't tell anyone else."

Katara nods. "I won't. You know I won't." Suki puts her hands on her hips and purses her lips, looking at her dryly. "What?" Katara asks.

"For heavens sake, whatever you do please don't tell blabber mouth."

"Blabber mouth?"

"Yue!"

"Alright! I won't tell Yue." If she does tell Yue the entire world may hear about it.

"Promise me."

"I promise."

"Pinky promise." Suki approaches her with her pinky up in the air.

"Are you serious? This is so elementary!"

"Pinky promise Katara!"

"Pinky promise?" She laughs at that. "Alright fine." She twists her pinky around Suki's. "I pinky promise."

"Good. Thanks Katara."

"No problem." She reaches into the ice box again but this time for cold drink. "Congratulations though."

"Thanks. So…" she breathes out a breath of relief. "You and Zuko huh?"

"Nope."

"What do you mean nope?"

"There isn't an us." She slams the refrigerator door shut and pops open the can. "There most likely won't be either."

"Why not?"

"Because he's going to the Fire Nation with Azula to finish school there."

"That sucks."

"I know." To Katara it really isn't fair. Maybe this is just some summer fling. "Sucks bad too."

"I'm surprised Mai hasn't popped back up yet."

"Whose that?"

"Mai Tao? You don't know who she is?" Suki looks surprised. "She's only the most sought after supermodel in the entire world just about."

"A supermodel? Are you serious?"

"You've never seen her?"

"No, I never even knew that she existed. So who is she? Is she an angry ex girlfriend or something?"

Suki laughs, rather loudly too. "You're kinda warm. Keep going."

"What? I don't know what else that she could be. An old friend maybe?"

"You gotta figure this one out for yourself." She whispers when Hakoda emerges from the man cave and enters the kitchen patting his less than fat belly.

"Hey Mr. Sneaux." Suki says cheerfully. "Catch any good game lately?" Oh, did Katara mention her father was a hunter and a fisherman? When he's not out saving lives and doing surgeries he's in the woods with her uncles and cousins hunting wild animals and in the rivers fishing. She's never went with them but Sokka always goes.

"Caught a few bucks a few weekends ago up by the mountains, couple bass and shoepicks." He boasts with a puff of his chest as he pops open a beer bottle. He's such a countryman, part of the reason why some women in town still have a _thing_ for him.

"I bet that was fun." Suki sighs.

"Since Katara never wants to go, and Yue probably won't even know the difference between a rock and a bullfrog, you can tag along."

"Really?" Of course Suki would be ecstatic about that, that kind of stuff is right up her ally.

Sokka comes storming around the corner, wiping the crumbs away from his mouth. "Say _what_?"

"She's going hunting with us." Hakoda informs him.

"Suki can't go hunting!" Sokka points an accusing finger at her. "Are you crazy?"

"It's just hunting!"

"It's dangerous out there!"

The door bell rings and Katara slides away to go and answer it, leaving her steaming seafood behind. Hopefully no one goes and takes it as their own. It rings a second and third time before she's even able to get to it. When she swings the door open she's almost less than surprised to see Aang.

He stands there on the porch with MoMo, his green eyes lemur, perched atop his head. Aang's smile is bright and his eyes shine like a million stars in a pitch black sky. As soon as she opens her mouth to greet him MoMo dives off of his head and Onto her shoulder.

MoMo is one of the very few animals that she isn't afraid of. She takes him off her shoulder and scratches behind his ears, and he actually kicks his leg like a dog would do.

"I thought you wouldn't ever come back!" Aang hugs her as tight as he can and she hugs him back with one arm. It's a friendly hug on her part but it's something else to him. Aang is only sixteen and a half years old, while she's turning twenty two on Christmas Day.

"I'm back now for good." She steps back across the threshold. "Are you coming in?"

"Sure." He comes inside and she closes the door behind them. "There's food and stuff in the kitchen- oh. You don't eat meat..." She trails off. Aang has always been a vegetarian solely based on the fact that he's an animal lover. He doesn't even eat seafood and Katara finds that just absurd. Who doesn't love seafood?

"Aang!" Suki comes barging into the foyer with Sokka hot on her heels at the same moment that Yue bursts through the front door with rollers in her hair and an old t short on and some shorts. Did she run all the way here? It sure looks like it the way she's sweating!

Sokka throws his hands up when he throws his eyes on Aang. "Tell her that she's crazy. She doesn't need to be out there around guns and shit!" Like Aang can tell Suki what she can and can't do.

Instead of interjecting herself into their three way squabble she brings her attention to Yue, whose currently ripping her hair rollers out of her hair. "What's with you?"

"Nothing." She shrugs her shoulders. "What's going on here?"

"The usual really."

"Oh. So Hahn's not here?"

"That's what you came for? For Hahn? You like him or something?"

"Of course not!"

"Yeah, sure you don't. Look at you, twenty years old and still hiding your feelings." Katara says when she leads Yue away and into the entertainment room that's down the hall and past the stairs. She knows that Suki knows she can trust her with her secret. Besides, it isn't Katara's place to tell.

Across the hall from the den is a piano room that doesn't even get used anymore. Katara stopped playing when she was seven and had moved on to ballet. This house has a room for damn near everything.

She remembers how she would always try to memorize the layout of the house with her eyes closed when she was younger. When you walk through the front doors it's the foyer. Down the three steps to the right is the formal dining room and down the three steps to the left is the living room. She used to hide on the balcony with Sokka to look down into the living room and watch the horror movies when they were younger. They would have all their snacks and blankets, so many memories. She loves this house.

"When did you start liking Hahn?" She closes the door and sits cross legged on one of the quilted sofas. Yue searches between the sofa for something, Katara doesn't know what.

Yue freezes and looks up. "I don't like him." She throws another pillow back into place and whips her hair out of her face with a jerk of her head.

"So I guess that's why you asked for him as soon as you busted into the house then huh? What an unlikely pair." Katara bends her knee and let's her other leg hang off of the sofa. "Guess you're gonna be at all the football games this go around aren't you?"

"What? No way!"

"Are you gonna get a college jersey too that says number fifteen on the back?"

"Hahn already has a fan club. Not to mention all the cheerleaders who've had crushes on him since middle school."

"I don't care who likes him!" She shouts with a flushed face. "Your hallucinating things. You're crazy Katara!" She says accusingly. But the smile on her face tells a whole different story. Even though she's full of confidence Yue

"I may be crazy but I'm not crazy in love like you are."

"Will you stop?"

"I'll go and get him for you since you like him so bad." Katara says, standing from the sofa and watching MoMo fly over to the window and peck on it, trying to get the attention of an owl that's perched on a tree branch.

Yue's head jerks up. "You'd better not!"

"Then just say that you like him! It isn't that hard!"

"I don't like him!"

"Look how you're _blushing_!"

"No I'm not!" She heaves a pillow at her but misses because Katara drops to the floor just in time.

She picks herself up as she's dying of laughter. "Now im really gonna tell." Yue isn't the type to get pretty mad, she would just get even at a person. But now she's beyond mad, her white head looks like it's going to explode! She's beyond mad and Katara thinks that it's the funniest thing!

She yanks the door open and runs out. "_Hahhhhhhhnnnnnn_!"

"Get back here!" Yue runs off after her, nearly knocking over the coffee table in the process. By the time she's out of the room Katara is already down the hall of the den with her hand on the doorknob. She twists it and bursts in. No Hahn in sight, but Torlaq and Unalaq are having an arm wrestling match in the middle of the room. There's a small crowd around them -Sokka, Sangok, Aang, Hakoda, and Bato, but no Hahn. The room is filled with tanned skin and blue eyes, nothing but big and muscular men, some young and some old. Some she hasn't seen in years.

"Where's Hahn?"

"He went home." Aang informs her. Why?" Then Yue comes and pulls her back into the hallway and slams the door shut.

"Will you quit being crazy!" She stomps her foot on the floor and crosses her arms over her chest. "Honestly!"

"Well he wasn't even in there."

"G-Good then!"

Katara walks away from her with a knowing smile on her face. "Whatever you say Yue."

"You're just imaging things!"

"Oh right, I forgot how much you deny everything."

"I'm not denying anything!"

"Sure and- where are you going?" She stops in the kitchen when Yue brushes past her.

"To finish organizing my closet so that I can make room for all the new clothes I'm going to get for school." They walk to the front door after Yue rerolls her hair.

"That sounds like a boatload of fun." No it _doesn't_. Yue cleaning out her closet is nothing but a headache.

"It is! Are you helping or what?"

"Tch. No." Katara has plans on going back to her food that she'd left behind and after that she wants to go back to sleep.

"Suit yourself. Are you ready for Sunday?"

"What's happening Sunday?"

"The community cookout." Yue pauses before she speaks again. "We're supposed to be handing out the fliers tomorrow morning and things like that."

"Nobody told me about a cookout."

"Please tell that you didn't forget about the game tomorrow evening."

"What game?"

"Don't worry about it. It's just the football game that we play every year."

"I'm not playing any football."

"Why not? You play every… well." Yue stops mid sentence. She shrugs and walks on out the front door with Katara behind her.

"I'm just not in the mood for it this year honestly. I'd rather be a benchwarmer." Just about every year the entire family would all gather up during the summer and have a big football game. Whoever lost had to buy lunch for everyone. The last time she played it was Arnook's team that had won. Even Yue got out there and slammed some bodies, and even Kya did.

"If you say so. Just be ready in the morning."

"I'm not doing that either." Katara drowns out Yue's instructions with her own voice and goes back into the house. As soon as she closes the door and is halfway up the stairs the doorbell rings. She's about to ignore it until it keeps on ringing and ringing and ringing.

With an exasperated breath she spins and storms down to open it.

It's Zuko.

He looks just as surprised to see her too. She hasn't seen him since the whole "date" thing. The things that Suki and Azula told her about him and that super model being married and how she still comes down here to see him. Why is he leaving to that school? Why can't he just go to the one down here?

"Are you just going to stare or are you going to let me in. Where's your southern hospitality?" He pushes the door open wider with his hand and brushes past her into the house.

"You can't just waltz in people's houses like that!" She slams the door shut. On second thought, maybe he _should_ leave!

"You sound mad!"

"I'm not mad!"

"Then why're you yelling and blushing?"

The stupid arrogant grin on his face makes things even worse. She searches for a comeback but can't find one suitable enough for this situation so she closes her mouth instead. How can he go from a reincarnated Romeo to this… jerk?

"Why are you even here?" She asks him.

He scoffs. "You never had a problem with me being here before."

"Fuck you."

"Katara!" She looks past him into the living room where Kya is standing with her hands on her hips, her current aggravated expression clearly tells Katara that she isn't too happy about her verbal expression.

"It's good to see you again Zuko. Are you hungry? Did you eat anything today? I hope you like gumbo." Gumbo? She didn't even know that they had gumbo. Kya leads Zuko into the kitchen, followed by an irate Katara.

"I've never had gumbo before."

"But you've been here for years, you haven't in the least tried it at all?"

"Not at all."

"But what about the bowls I sent when you first moved here?"

"Azula ate it all herself."

Katara ignores their conversation and reheats her food.

"Oh no, you sit." She hears her mother say. "Katara can fix your food and drinks."

"No she cant." Katara grumbles in reply.

Kya frowns. "Have yourself some manners, Katara." She can almost feel Zuko grinning at her back because of the way she's getting scolded.

"Just help yourself to anything dear. It you need us we'll be right outside alight?"

"Alright. Thank you :"

Thank you . She takes her food out of the microwave and slams the door shut a little bit more than necessary. When she turns around Zuko is at the big pot on the stove with the top in his hand, he's staring into the pot and the pot with an unreadable expression.

"Don't tell me you don't even know what's in there." She drawls out. "Excuse us if it's not a Fire Nation delicacy." She sits at the booth table that's in the corner of the kitchen and tears off pieces of paper towel for the mess that she's about to make.

"Exact _what_ is in this?"

"Shrimps, chicken, crab paws, smoked sausage. The greenish stuff is okra. You eat it with rice."

"With rice?"

"You what rice is don't you?"

"I don't. Come and fix it for me."

She looks over at him with a dry expression before she continues peeling the crawfish. "No:"

"My mother is tipsy. She doesn't know what she's talking about herself." She looks out onto the patio again and sees that there's people from her mother's so called book club out there too. They don't even have any books or anything out, they're just drinking and laughing at something that Ursa said.

When she looks at him again he's scooping rice into a bowl before he covers it up with gumbo. It isn't a lot from where she can see but it's not too much either.

"Don't tell me you can't peel." She sighs when he sits across from her and stares down at the crab paw that's sticking out of the soup in disdain.

"I've never had to peel any type of food like this before."

Katara shouldn't be surprised at that. She takes the paw out of the bowl with a paper towel and cracks it open for him. He watches her the entire time and she hopes that he's takin notes on this. She learned how to peel seafood when she was five years old, they all had to learn sometime. Who was going to keep peeling they food for them, leaving their own plates undone?

"Why are you going to a college in the Fire Nation?"

"What?"

"I said why are you going to a school in the Fire Nation."

Then he stares at her as if he's just now recognizing who she is. He doesn't tear his eyes away, not even when she puts the meat in his bowl and starts back on her own food.

"Am I not supposed to?" He asks after while."

She doesn't know. It's his own choice really when it's all said and done. There's not much that she can do about that, she doesn't even know what they are at this moment.

"I don't know."

"Maybe I need something to keep me here." She raises her eyes at him and instantly returns them to her current task.

"Well." A small smile comes to her lips when she sees one on his. "Maybe you do."

"I _do_ need that."

She doesn't know if he's talking about her or not, but the promise that she sees in his eyes and judging from the quickening of her heartbeat, those four words, four simple words, are meant for her.

**.0.**

**Read and Review! Please let me know any errors I've made! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Story** **Title**: Give Me Love

**Author**: XxToToXx

**Full** **Summary**: ****Give Me Love is all your favorite romance movies rolled into one epic Zutara fanfic! Zuko, a man with a dark past is searching for something to make him feel, while Katara is trying to witness a miracle before it's too late. I'll come up with a better story summary later on.****

**SIX **

"Remember when you asked me if I'd ever been in love before?" Zuko looks down at her but doesn't say anything. Then he looks back up at the full moon when she continues. "I was. I lied."

"If you've ever loved someone shouldn't you love them forever?"

She shakes her head. "Not necessarily. My first love was everything all at once. The kind that you never fall back from. Never try to. Never want to. My love was so big and so strong. It never dies. Never fades. Never losses its electricity. The type of love you fight for. The kind of boy you fight for."

"Then if its all that…" he looks down at her again. "Why aren't you two together then?"

"Because everything happens for a reason. Who are we to question God's plan?"

"You sound like you're going to die soon."

"You never know." She crosses her legs on the grass and stares out at the lake. The full moon shines out over and makes the soft waves glisten and shine. She shudders. She shudders just by thinking about how right Zuko is. She knows she's going to be leaving soon and she also knows that she doesn't want anyone to be more hurt than they already will be. Like Zuko. She likes him, she admits, and because of her current situation… she can't get close to anyone.

"You and that supermodel huh?" She expertly changes the subject to something else besides her and he goes for it without s second thought.

"What super model?"

Katara stands up and wipes off the grass and dirt from her shorts. "Mai, I never knew you were married."

"Who told you that?"

"No one." She lies. "I just heard that you were." Why does he look so mad about it? He's single isn't he?

He glares down at her and turns to leave. "Mai doesn't have anything much to do with you, Katara." He takes long steps away from her.

"It was just a question, you don't have to go mean green about it!"

"It's more than just a question." His voice is cold, distant, and full of edge. She follows him back to the deck anyway, even though it's like he doesn't want to talk about her at all. Katara wonders why.

"Why're you so mad about it though?"

"I'm not mad about it, Katara. I'm _disgusted_. It's a big difference." He says before opening the back door and disappearing back into the house.

He doesn't come back that night

Practice for the family football game is canceled due to the rain and Katara can't be happier. She didn't go downstairs to know for sure but she's pretty sure that's what they're going to do. They never play in the rain.

And since Yue hates the rain that means she doesn't have to go and put up fliers about the cookout. Katara wishes that it could rain tomorrow too so that she doesn't have to go to church.

Hard knocking comes to get door and she instinctively covers up her head. "Katara!" It's her mother, she bangs again. "Get up and come eat something!"

"I'm not hungry."

"Girl, if you don't get your tail out of that bed!" She twists on the door knob and shakes the handle.

"Alright!" Katara throws the covers back and onto the floor. "I'm up!" No one can sleep late in this house. If she's up then _everyone_ else has to be up.

"Get up and get dressed." She hollers. Then Katara can hear her heels clicking down the hallway.

"For what?" she checks her alarm clock and falls back onto the bed when she checks the time. It's only eight in the morning, where could she possibly be going this early and with heels on at that?

She doesn't know why she checks her phone, it's not like someone texted her called her. Well people did, but she didn't get anything from the main person she wants to talk to. It's probably best this way anyway. She doesn't need to be getting attached to anyone.

When she goes downstairs her father is sitting at the island with a newspaper in his hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She doesn't tell him anything and he doesn't make an effort to speak to her. She's fine with that. There's grits and cheese in the pot on the stove and a platter of meat next to it but she really isn't hungry. Instead she fixes a glass of juice and goes back upstairs to her room to take her medicine. Sokka barges into her room just as she's opening a pill bottle. He startles her so bad that she jumps and and all the pills fall on the floor.

She tries to pic them all up before Sokka can see but he's already crouched down snd picking them up. "What are these?" She can already tell by the way his face is set up that he's about to start an argument. She has to think of something fast.

"They're keratin pills." She snatches them out of his hands and drops them back into the bottle. "I'm trying to get my hair to grow."

It's a lame lie. These are way too big to be keratin pills but Sokka doesn't know any better. "Your hair is already long. What do you need to grow it for?" There isn't any suspicion in his voice at all now, that's new. Any other time he would've picked a fight about it.

"Because I want it longer. What do you want?"

"Let's go dirt bike riding. It's muddy outside and the rain has stopped, it's the prefect timing! Unless you wanna hit the four wheelers. We can do that too."

"No thank you." She doesn't want to go out in the mud and muggy weather enough to get sick.

Sicker than she already is.

"Why not?" He whines. "You used to love that sort of thing."

"Not anymore."

He stares at her a while before he speaks again and this time his tone is low and unwavering. "I don't know what happened all those years you were gone, but you're not the Katara that I remember." When she turns back around he's gone, but his words still hang in the air.

It's thundering terribly outside but it doesn't rain.

She's in her mother's parlor later on, in the painful process of getting her hair set and rolled. She would fall asleep if it weren't for her mother's ever lasting voice and the rumbling coming from the next room.

She doesn't feel like she got nearly enough sleep last night. She was up the whole time thinking about what Zuko's problem is and why he got so upset over Mai. The only thing that Zuko can see is that she broke his heart or something, and right now she doesn't have time to be mending broken hearts, especially a heart she didn't break. Life is too short for all of that.

"I was going to pulverize them!" Kya says that night while she's rolling Katara's hair. "Senna has it coming. Last year she made me break a nail." Who in the world would get their nails done to play football? No one _but_ her mother!

"Senna is no bigger than I am?" Katara winced when her mother pulls her hair too hard to roll it in a roller. In the den she can hear her father and brother wrestling, something that they always do and Hakoda always is the one who wins. That's why Sokka works out so much so that he can one day beat him, but Sokka doesn't have much muscle still.

"But she has the strength of a ten foot tall lumberjack!"

"I don't see it." She winces out again. "Can you be anymore hostile than you already are?"

"Maybe if you go to the salon more often we wouldn't have this problem!" She stains. "I'm almost done, will you quit moving!"

Katara is more than relieved when the last roller is set at the back of her head. Now it's going to be hell for her to sleep tonight. "Why didn't Zuko come to go riding with Sokka today?" She jumps at her mother's question. How would she answer this? What Zuko does isn't any of her business obviously.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Well aren't you two together?"

"No."

"Well why not?"

"Because…"

"Because what?"

"Because I guess he doesn't like me like that, I don't care anyways because he's just a stupid jerk who only cares about himself."

"Katara, just shut up." Kya stands and washes her hands off in the sink. "That's the biggest lie I've ever heard you tell me."

"It's not a lie."

"So you like him but he doesn't like you?"

"That's right I guess."

And then Kya smiles and dries her hands on some paper towel. "If he didn't like you why would he be giving you the time of day?"

"I don't know."

"No, you know. He's been an eligible bachelor as long as he's been no here."

"No he hasn't. He's been married before."

"What type of stuff is that? He's never been married, where'd you hear that from?"

"From… around." She shrugs a shoulder and pulls her knees up to her chest. She doesn't want to say that she heard it from Suki. "He was married to a super model and he's only twenty years old, how can I compete with that?" She can't and she knows that she can't. She's just a southern down home girl, from a little town. She doesn't have some billion dollar company paying her to take pictures all around the world.

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"I've never known that, maybe you just heard wrong." No, Katara didn't hear wrong. She knows exactly what she heard but she won't argue about it.

"I'm going to bed."

"It's only seven thirty." Kya says when she looks at the clock on the wall. "Are you pregnant or something?" She turns around with narrowed eyes and tight lips. "You'd better not be!"

"I'm my pregnant, alright? I just wanna have my privacy like I'm used to."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'm going to go and get started on dinner now." She says after she tucks a long strand of hair behind her ear. "Did you want anything special? Maybe for Zuko to come over?" She thinks she's funny.

"No! I don't want him to come over!" She doesn't say anything and disappears into the hallway. "Don't call him over here." She stretches out legs to get the feeling back in them before she's able to stand up. She's been sitting down like that for two hours, all cramped up and uncomfortable. The last time Katara sat like that was when she was much younger, maybe seven or eight.

Her mother hasn't done her hair in so long and tonight she's made up for all that. Against Katara's will, Kya washed and deep conditioned her hair, dried snd moisturized it and then flat ironed it. She can't even count how many times her ears got burned, hair pulled, and popped with the rat tail comb. While she's wrapping the head scarf around her head Hakoda comes in. His shirt is wrinkled and he's got sweat on his forehead.

"So she's finally let you free?" He joked casually as he gestures at the hair products around the room. "At least you weren't screaming and crying this time." This is first thing he's said to her since the whole Zuko thing.

"It's more tolerable." She says after she gets over the initial shock.

"How about we go to the city and get the stuff for the cookout tomorrow? We can stop by the Apple Store while we're there." He's bribing her because he knows just how much she wants that iphone six.

"I'm supposed to be helping Yue hand out the fliers and stuff."

"I'm sure she can handle it on her own. She has other people that can help her."

"Oh, okay. But ma won't like that we're missing church."

"How about we let that be her problem this time."

"Alright." He leaves soon after that. She forgets to ask if Sokka is going or not. Sokka and Hakoda do everything together, it's just like they're conjoined at the hip which means that Katara was often left out on a lot of things.

"And take the trash out!" He shouts back from the hallway. Why's she always the one who has to take the trash out? Why can't he ever do it? She does it anyway and luckily for her, this time it isn't full. When she dumps the bag into the can that's at the end of the long driveway her eye catches a paper that on the utility pole.

When she approaches it she's shocked to see its a missing persons paper. A little girl, whose only seven years old, has been missing for a month now. The picture shows her wearing a pink t shirt and a denim skirt, she's clutching a black and white teddy bear and her black hair is pulled up in a set of pig tails. Her eyes are brown and she's missing a few teeth. She was last seen in her mother's front yard riding her bike with friends and just mysteriously disappeared. How come no one ever told Katara that there was a child missing? That's terrible! She can't even begin to imagine how the girls parents feel.

"Don't tell me that you're just now seeing this." She jumps at the sound of the voice. When she whips around Zuko is staring at her emotionlessly. "How can you not know?" She looks behind him. She doesn't see his car anywhere.

"Did you walk all the way here?"

"No, I flew." She give him a disgusted look before she brushes past him to go back into the house. She isn't in the mood for his sarcasm and attitudes. He pulls her back to him by her wrist and she yanks it away.

"I just came here to apologize."

"I bet you did." She turns back around and stomps back up the drive away and fans the mosquitoes out of her face as she goes. "I don't want any apology from you."

"Just because you don't want it doesn't mean that you don't need it." She stops on the first step of the porch and looks back at him. He's on the cobblestone pathway with one hand on the white wooden railing with his other hand still in the pocket of his jeans.

"An apology for what? For almost going off on me for bringing up your wife? Or not even mentioning that you had a wife? Or how you so rudely stormed off-"

"For everything if you would just let me explain!" He smoothly cuts her off and takes on step forward.

"Why didn't you say that you were married before?"

"Because…"

"Because what Zuko?" She asks tiredly. "Because you didn't want me to find out, because you still love her, or because you're still married to her? It may even be all three." She feels stupid for getting her hopes up as fast as she did for him, thinking that maybe he could've liked her back even if it wouldn't have worked out.

He looks down at the steps. When he Raises his head again he looks like he's going to regret what he's about to say. "It's true."

"What's true?"

"I'm still-"

The front door swings open and Kya sticks her head out and instantly puts on a bright smile. "Hello Zuko!" Could her timing be any worse? "Are you staying for dinner?"

"No." Katara and Zuko both end up answering at the same time. The older woman's eyebrows raise and She gives her daughter a _look_.

"Okay then. Tell Ursa I said hello." She slowly creeps back into the house but Katara bets she's peeping out of the window.

"I have to go."

Zuko stops her again. "You never gave me a chance to finish."

"Well you said that something was true. That's enough for me right there." She turns again. "Good night Zuko." And she leaves him there on the porch without giving him a second look.

After dinner she locks herself in her room again and looks over her newly written bucket list. There's a list of ten things that she wants to do in life. She wants to be in two places at one time, if that's even possible. She wants to witness a miracle, befriend someone that she hates, make a major discovery, forgive someone who hurt her, make amends to those she's hurt, give life to someone or some thing, have a star named after her, and lastly, fall in love.

She isn't too sure about that last part but she wants to feel genuine love before she leaves this place, even if that means hurting the one gives her love in the process. But in the end, would it all be worth it? She doesn't know. She hides her notebook under her bed and pulls down the spread to cover it up.

Ever since Zuko said that it was true what she'd told him she's been in sour mood, even though it was hours ago. He either is still married to her or he's still in love with her. One of them may be true but then again they both may be true. But if it were true why would he get so mad when she bought her name up? Whatever it is she doesn't care, that's his business and he's told her more than enough already.

After she showers and takes her medicine again and slips into her night clothes she's downstairs looking for food… again.

As always, Sokka's there with an entire tub of ice cream in his hands. When he sees her going into the pot of left over gumbo he stood her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get me something to eat."

"You already ate everything ma cooked earlier." He gestures to the dishes that he's supposed to he washing. "What is with you?"

She answers him after she scoops up the soup and dumps it into bowl. "What are you talking about?"

"You're not yourself. The Katara I knew would've beaten me to the dirt bikes."

"You're just hallucinating or something."

"No I'm not. Look at you." He throws his hand up. "You're eating everything in sight and you sleep damn near all day."

"What's the problem with that?"

"It's not like you!"

"You're really starting to give me a headache." She says, slamming the ice box door and slinging open the microwave. "Can't you just finish doing whatever it was you were doing?"

"I'm trying to see what's your problem."

"I don't have a problem."

"You can try to run that on someone who doesn't know you. That lie won't work on me." He tops the ice cream up and puts it back in the deep freezer. "Now what's going on?"

"I'm just trying to get something to eat. There's nothing wrong with that!"

His arms cross over his chest and he looks down at her with blue eyes full of doubt. "Shut up Katara, just come on out and tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing! Stop questioning me." She wishes that she can but she can't. "Why're you so worried?"

"Because I'm your big brother!"

"By twenty seconds only."

"That doesn't matter."

Finally she gives up on trying to warm her food and gets a large bag of chips from the pantry. He follows her halfway up the stairs. "You aren't pregnant are you?"

"No, but Suki Is." She relies after she rips the bag open. "I'll love to see you explain that one." She doesn't even bother to look back to see his expression. It was kind of a low blow but she doesn't care, he should have left her alone.

When she gets back into her that room she checks the French doors. They haven't been tampered with at all, so that means Zuko isn't coming tonight. He doesn't need to anyway, not that she dares or anything. After eating and researching her fate more she falls into a dreamless sleep, but guilt still eats at her chest.

**.0.**

When she takes her hair down its in big voluminous waves and a bit darker than it usually is. She likes it, it's different than her usual ponytail or braid look. She didn't know it had grown this long though, it's a few inches to her waist but she doesn't think she'll ever get it cut off.

Christ _no_.

Since Katara doesn't have to go to church today that means no dresses or skirts. She chooses to wear camouflage shorts and a black low cut shirt with the outrageously priced sandals that Kya had bought her sometime when she was gone. Even though she'd left home her mother was still buying her things like She was still there. When she's putting the golden hoop earring in her ear a wave of nausea washes over her. She doesn't think too much of it because last night she woke up out of her sleep eating candy and chips.

It'll just pass sooner or later. She brushes out her hair she then decides on putting on some makeup, just a little bit. It's just sitting on her dresser waiting for to use it and taking up space. After remembering the steps that both her mother and Yue taught her she primes her face and then uses her brush to put on the foundation and concealer. Sokka bursts in just as she's rolling her powder brush into a compact. He closes the door and looks it behind him.

"How do you know that Suki is pregnant?"

"Because I figured it out, it wasn't hard to do." She taps the excess powder from the brush and then swifts it over her face. Now she sees the difference when she looks into the mirror. The makeup makes her skin glow and look completely flawless. Maybe she should wear it more often.

Sokka frowns and snatches up the small bottle of black gel liner when she reaches for it. She goes for it but he moves it out of his reach. "Give it back to me!"

"Who else knows?"

"Just give it back to me!"

"Who Katara?" He demands and pushes her hand out of the way.

"Nobody! But maybe I should so you can leave me alone about it!" She's about sick of him questioning her about things! He doesn't know how to quit!

"You'd better not!"

And she does, or tries to. She unlocks the door and swings it open only to run dead into none other than Zuko himself. He opens his mouth to say something but then he stops, it's almost as if he has to make sure that he's looking at the same person from last night.

She pushes past him and "What do you want?"

That's when Sokka comes behind her and pulls her back into her bedroom. He's stronger than she last remembers, maybe he's getting some strength after all. "He came here to tell you you're crazy!" She jerks out of his hold and shoves him off.

"No I didn't." When Zuko speaks he's looking directly at her. He's dressed for church but what's he really even doing here?

She then decides to ignore his presence completely and sticks her hand out. "Just give me back my liner, Sokka."

Sokka holds his ground. "Promise me you won't tell them Katara."

She reaches for it. He steps back and sticks it into his pocket. "How do you know Zuko won't tell?"

Zuko chuckles. "Tell what?" From his tone Katara knows that he knows what's going on already and he's just playing stupid.

"Come on, id give you my word if something was going on with you. Id do it for you." His words strike a nerve and she feels bad about threatening to tell their parents something like that. Even if she did tell Sokka what was really going on with her he wouldn't even look at her the same. He would go the extra mile to make her as comfortable as possible and rack his brains out to try and find some type of solution. He may nag her and get on her everlasting nerves about everything but he'd never sell her out.

"Alright. I won't tell, I promise." He looks unsure. "I won't tell anyone, give me my stuff."

"Fine." Then he trusts her again just like that, like they've never exchanged words. She goes back to her dresser and focuses on doing her liner right after she scrounges around for her Sokka leaves after he takes the remnants of her snacks and pats Zuko on the back. Does he know about him that Mai girl? He probably does but just isn't saying anything.

"I came to talk to you." She scoffs at him and continues doing what she's doing. He glares at her, something that she didn't know he was able to do. He's always so calm most of the time. "Why can't you just listen for two minutes?"

"I can listen for two minutes, I just can't listen to _you_."

"Quit being stubborn."

"I'm not being stubborn." She sighs and rests her hands on the dresser top. "What do you have to say?" Whatever it is she wishes that he would just come on out and say it. They're supposed to be leaving soon and she doesn't want to be cooped up in here with him, not that she minds it…

But still.

"I need to explain."

"You've already explained everything. When I asked you if you were still in love with her or if you were still married to her you said it was true. One of them is true, and honestly that's more than enough for me."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about." She whips around on him and he stands from her bed. "You're just a… a womanizing, arrogant, self centered jerk who thinks he knows everything!" She drops her makeup back down onto the dresser and slings her bag over her shoulder.

"Where'd you even get that from?"

"From being around you!" She tries to slam her bedroom door in his face once she's in the hallway but he stops it with his foot and tails her down the stairs.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe you're stubborn and arrogant? You aren't too easy to get along with either!"

"Yeah? At least I'm not a liar!"

"I never lied to you Katara." He grabs her by her wrist just when she's about to make it to the landing and spins her around to face him, his hands squeeze her shoulders and he stares down at her like a lion eyeing down a gazelle. "I've been honest with you since the day that I met you."

"Then you're either still married to her or you're still in love with her. You don't need to tell me which one it is."

"Why do you care so much anyway?" He releases her.

Does he not know? Is he really _that_ blind? "You're right. Why do I care so much?" Out of the corner of her eye she can see her father loading something into the back of his big double cab truck and then get In and start the engine. Obviously Zuko doesn't care because if he cared any he would not have even attempted to lead her on the way he that he did, the way that she _allowed_ him to.

He calls after her when she's storming out of the front door but she doesn't stop. Kya is fixing Sokka's shirt when she jumps into the big truck. She looks at Zuko and then back at Katara before her expression brightens and she ushers Zuko over, briefly waving to them as they back out of the driveway.

Hakoda glances over at her. "Are you two having a lover's spat?" Theres so much sarcasm in his voice that it doesn't even make the joke funny. "He looked upset."

"I know. I don't care."

"I thought you liked him?"

"Yeah." She stares out the window. "So did I."

The ride is long and quiet. Hakoda mostly asks her if she's made any plans on going back to college or working somewhere. She looks horrified at that.

Katara shuffles deeper into the seat. "I don't need to work, I have money already."

"You don't have any money Katara."

"You have money, so therefore I have it to."

"that's not how it goes."

"Whatever. I don't ever need to work, my parents are rich."

"There has to be something that you want to do in life, and for heavens sake, I hope it doesn't involve that boy." He grunts the last sentence and speeds up on the highway. "He's the last thing you need in your life right now."

"Why don't you like him? What could he have possibly done to you? The whole time I've been here it's been '_stay away from. I don't want you with that boy_' and everything else. But what exactly has he done?" There has to be something for him to keep trying to make her stay away from him. But now she has her own reasons to do so, so what's his reason?

"I'm not about to sit up here and explain something like that to you. All I've said is that he's not the type of boy that I would want with my daughter."

"Ma and sokka doesn't think that."

"Well they're pretty naive."

"Maybe it's just you being insecure and paranoid." He scoffs at what she says and she doesn't try to stop what comes out of her mouth next. "Unless you don't like where he's from or you don't like his dad so you don't want me to be around Zuko. Since you can't tap into ma or Sokka's mind you're trying to infiltrate mine and turn me against him."

"Say what now?"

"You don't have to worry about me being with him anyway."

"Why not? I thought that you were head over heels for him. What changed? It's not like you to listen to anyone so easily."

She fiddles around with her fingers before she answers him. "Nothing happened. It probably wouldn't have worked out anyway." She remarks. Of course it wouldn't have worked out. Zuko Is strong and healthy while she's a ticking time bomb, just waiting to explode at any moment. He's going to a prominent school in the Fire Nation, miles and miles away from that dirt road town and what's she going to be doing?

She doesn't even know what she's going to be doing.

Hakoda doesn't press the issue. Instead he turns up the music on the radio and the Rudd is silent again. Even though there's music it's still unnerving.

"It's a good thing that your mother didn't decide to tag along. We would be here all day and half the night." He throws the truck in park outside of a massive supermarket once they make it to their destination. "Let's go, we have to be back for at least two. It's already twelve."

"It's still muddy out there." She half whines, squinting her eyes in the ultra bright sunlight. The wind sends his masculine smell along into her nostrils. It's far too much nostalgia. The last time she'd been to this store it was her and Jet; making groceries for their penthouse together.…

"Not at the mayors garden. What are you searching for?" He asks when she accidentally nudges him with her sharp elbow as they're walking through the store doors.

"I'm hungry."

"You just ate- you're eating _already_."

"I'm gonna eat until I get full then." She says, a mouth full of sour candies she took from out Sokka's secret stash or sugary goods earlier this morning. If it weren't necessary to have two baskets Katara thinks that her father would've had her push the main one. He thinks it's unmanly for a man to push a grocery basket.

Katara really isn't too focused on getting all of the things they need because her mind is in a totally different place… again.

"You're going to help the rest of the women cook."

She almost chokes on her gum. "What?"

"I said you're going to help the rest of the women cook today."

"No I'm not." She follows him to the checkout line, which isn't too long. "If you want me to burn the house down all you had to do was say. It won't take much for me to get some gas and a match." She isn't fit for the kitchen at all. Her mother and grandmother tried to teach her but it didn't do any good. She's the entire reason that they had to remodel the kitchen, baking cookies went oh so wrong. He doesn't have a comeback for her because he's too busy watching whatever in his cell phone.

She helps him put the groceries onto the counter for the woman to ring up, often Katara catches her eyes traveling to her father. That's nasty. He's her father, she doesn't want any other female checking him out like that. She even thinks it's gross when her own mother does it. After paying for their items they haul the bags into the truck, Katara carries as many as she can so that they can hurry to the cell phone store. She cannot wait to get rid of this phone, it's aggravating as hell.

"You haven't even thought about going back for your last year? While Sokka Is out on the field throwing the pigskin you can be on the side, rooting him on." Hakoda suggests. "It'll be just like your mother and I were in high school."

"I'd rather stay home."

"You can't stay home Katara."

"Why not?"

"Because you're either going to go to school or you're going to work."

"Work where? I can't work!"

"I don't know. But what I do know Is that you're not going to sit at home all day doing nothing."

"Nooooo."

"I'll tell you what, you can come and work with me at the hospital." He looks at her to see her reaction. They've always wanted her there, she doesn't know why. But Katara thinks it's just because they're buttering up to her father.

"I don't wanna work at all."

"It's nothing like making your own money Katara." But she has _their_ money, what does she need to work for?

He said I was in my early forties  
>With a lot of life before me<br>When a moment came that stopped me on a dime  
>And I spent most of the next days<br>Looking at the x-rays  
>And talking about the options, talking 'bout sweet time<p>

And I asked him when it sank in  
>That this might really be the real end<br>How's it hit you get that kind of news  
>Man, what'd you do (he said)<p>

I went sky divin  
>I went rocky mountain climbing<br>I went two point seven seconds  
>On a bull named Fu Man Chu<br>And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter  
>And gave forgiveness I'd been denying<br>And he said some day I hope you get the chance  
>To live like you were dying<p>

He said I was finally the husband  
>That most the time I wasn't<br>And I became a friend a friend would like to have  
>And all 'a sudden going fishin'<br>Wasn't such an impostition  
>And I went three time that year I lost my dad<p>

And I finally read the good book  
>And I took a good long hard look<br>At what I'd do if I could do it all  
>again... and then<p>

I went sky divin  
>I went rocky mountain climbing<br>I went two point seven seconds  
>On a bull named Fu Man Chu<br>And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter  
>And gave forgiveness I'd been denying<br>And he said some day I hope you get the chance  
>To live like you were dying<p>

Like tommorrow was a gift  
>And you've got eternity to think about<br>What you'd do with it  
>What did you do with it<br>What did I do with it  
>What would I do with it<p>

I went sky divin  
>I went rocky mountain climbing<br>I went two point seven seconds  
>On a bull named Fu Man Chu<br>And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter  
>And I watched an eagle as it was flying<br>And he said one day I hope you get the chance  
>To live like you were dying<br>To live like you were dying  
>To live like you were dying<p>

She leans her head back against the seat. Of all songs that had to play, why did it have to be that one? But it does make her feel some type of way though, it makes her think deeper. Is that what she's supposed to be doing? Living life to its fullest? Right now she doesn't want to make any attachments to anyone, she didn't even want to go mudding with Sokka…

She should, she finally thinks. She doesn't know how long she's going to be here, but she's going to make every day count.

**.0.**

**Read and review. **


End file.
